Horiya
by Sweet Honey-sempai
Summary: AU. Ch 6: The Snyders and noah try to deal with the news of Zoe's pregnancy. Margo questions Lisa. Luke recieves a letter. Damian is ambushed.
1. Part I Chapter I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own As The World Turns

**Note:** So after double-checking everywhere, I figured that Noah had not been granted a middle name, and I set out to rectify that situation. If he's got one already, forgive my ignorance. Fun story about choosing the name…I decided to look into his possible ethnic background based on his parents' names. "Wilson" is English, and "Mayer" is English, Scottish, German, and Jewish. Based on that, I searched for names meaning "warrior" and discovered the English name "Charles" has a disputed meaning; some believe it means "man" and others think it means "army; warrior". Either one is a meaning that Winston would want to foist onto his son, so I picked it.

* * *

Part I – Chapter I

* * *

"Did you know Colonel Winston Mayer?"

The immediate look of pain on Noah's face sent an invisible punch to Luke's gut. His hand immediately slid atop Noah's to squeeze a plea for forgiveness.

"Or maybe that's not the best thing to ask right now…"

"I am…_aware_ of the man," Riley answered slowly, and the thunder that rolled into his voice was not lost on either Luke or Noah. "How, er, did you happen to make his acquaintance?"

"He's my father," Noah said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"You're looking at Noah Charles Mayer, his one and only son," Noah elaborated, bitterness flavoring his words like a spice on meat.

"My condolences."

"How did you know him?"

Riley glanced around the room. Casey and Alison were vacated from the indoors; Margo and Tom occupied the kitchen, busying themselves with hand-washing dishes and ignoring the completely practicable dishwasher. He frowned, trying to gauge how much they could eavesdrop on unintentionally.

"Is that classified too?" Luke asked, praying that his slight joking lilt would lighten the mood.

"Not really," Riley said, though his frown deepened, shooting down Luke's hope. "It just isn't a topic to brighten someone's day, especially when they've been bereaved."

Noah felt as though a black hole had replaced his intestines. "What…what did he do?"

"In the Middle East, there's something called al-Majjaanan. Have either of you heard of it?" Luke and Noah both shook their heads. "In English it means "the free of charge". They're slaves. Domestic terrorist cells kidnap anyone that the community won't be sad to see go…unmarried women, excess children, homosexuals, people who cooperate with the troops, Jews…and sell them off, all over the world."

"My father was a slave trader?"

"He still is. At least, he's certainly suspected of being one. Adam volunteered for, as do I, an organization dedicated to stopping the slave trade. Mayer's name was spoken more than once by those perpetrators whom we've managed to bring in."

"My father is dead," Noah said blankly. "He…I watched him drown. A year ago."

Riley's quizzical glance returned. "That's…not possible." Puzzlement changed to sympathy, and Riley's tone morphed into one of gentleness. "Unless there's another Colonel Winston Mayer trafficking humans around the Mediterranean, your father is very much alive."

"Pardon?" Margo appeared suddenly, hovering over Riley like a hawk hungry for something that wasn't thoughts of her dead son. Riley turned to look up at her, and as he did Luke's shock wore off enough to let him feel Noah's hand shaking underneath his.

"I'm sorry to bring this up at a time like this; if this upsets you—" Riley started.

"It does, but not because of Adam," Margo interrupted. "Winston Mayer is guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, in _my_ jurisdiction."

"Our latest intelligence indicates that he isn't in the US. From what we can gather, he's somewhere between Greece and Tunisia."

"He's at the bottom of the Hudson River," Noah said, his voice matching his hand and taking on an insistent edge. "They found his dog tags; he was declared deceased."

"They never found a body, Noah," Luke rasped quietly, throat dry.

"Reports of his activities haven't been floating around for very long," Riley continued. "It's possible, or more accurately, _probable_ that he was in hiding for some time after faking his drowning."

"My father is _dead!_"

"Noah!" Luke grabbed Noah's shoulders and pulled him back, closer to Luke. His hands moved up to Noah's face and guided it back around; he was met with blue eyes dark and glittering. "Calm down."

"You're hearing this, this nonsense; this—"

"Noah!" Luke's fingers tightened around Noah's hair. "_Calm. Down._"

It felt to Luke like Noah ripped his hands away and threw them down. He watched Noah's eyes snap fire for an instant before they disappeared; Noah stood up and turned to again face Riley.

"I think you have the wrong person, Sergeant," Noah said, his voice low and controlled. Before Riley could reply Noah had transferred his gaze to Margo, and Tom who had appeared behind her. "I apologize; could you please give my condolences to Casey?"

"Of course, but…Noah?" Noah had already strode deliberately past her, nodding respectfully to Tom before yanking open the door and letting it slam shut behind him.

"Oh, jeez, Noah…" Luke stood, feeling his guts swelling. "Sergeant, I apologize. Margo and Tom, to you too—"

"No, no, it's fine," Tom said. He stepped back, gesturing towards the door. "We'll excuse you."

"Thank you. And, again, I'm so sorry about Adam." His hands reached out to gently squeeze Margo's. He remained still long enough to hear her soft "Thank you" before running out after Noah.

Casey and Alison had disappeared—probably to have sex, Luke noted briefly with a wry smile. Not that he blamed them; he'd rather be doing likewise, instead of chasing after his boyfriend's dark figure and seeing, against his will, the shadow of a man carrying a rifle lurking around every tree. 'Tunisia and Greece,' Luke reminded himself, hearing his inner voice's desperation. 'He's between Tunisia and Greece.'

In his distraction he nearly ran into who he was looking for. Noah stood as if frozen at the street corner, staring back at the direction he had come from. His expression was a combination of one slapped in the face and one about to throw up.

Silently Luke reached for Noah's hand. He was surprised when Noah snatched it out of the air and tugged it, pulling Luke towards him. His free arm slipped around Luke's shoulders and held him tightly against his body. Luke glanced up as Noah dragged him forward; anger was melting away into something Luke had never seen tattooed on blue eyes: a mess worse than when they had left Amira in New York.

* * *

"I'm an ass."

Luke looked back from where he was dispensing his shirt in the hamper to where Noah was sitting on the bed. Noah had towed them back to the house in complete silence, though once inside Luke had been the one to take them upstairs. He'd watched Noah change into pajamas like a hawk—an action he would have enjoyed were it not for the present circumstances—before allowing himself the same action.

"I can't believe I just walked out like that."

"Margo and Tom understand," Luke said, pulling on his own pajama bottoms and sitting down next to Noah. "I'm pretty sure Margo wanted to storm out, too."

"Still, I…and I went off on Sergeant Morgan, too. God, I'm such a _jackass_."

"All right. Lie down. _Now_."

"Luke—"

"No arguments," Luke said, seizing Noah by the shoulders and pulling him back before pressuring his torso closer to the mattress. "You just got _the_ _worst_ news anybody could give you. Cut yourself some slack."

Succeeding in getting Noah on his stomach, Luke positioned himself lightly atop his boyfriend and pushed his hands against Noah's shoulder blades. Holden had mentioned not long ago that his suspicions had started with the backrub he watched Luke give to Kevin; Luke remembered how intensely besotted he had felt back then and only thought it right to give that same kind of adoration to someone who actually cared about him. Massages were slowly becoming a ritual after stressful days.

"It wasn't news, it was misinformation."

"Noah…"

"Why are you so quick to believe that this isn't a case of mistaken identity?"

"Noah, doesn't this seem a _bit_ suspicious to you? He was going to sell Amira to some people in Iraq, and now his name turns up after he disappears as part of a slave trade based out of the Middle East."

"He has to be dead, Luke. How could he possibly…?"

"He had a window of opportunity to escape. It's not like the Coast Guard was _there_ when he went under. And…didn't you say the guy he was with was finding a different boat? There were other boats on the water; one of them could've been the one he was supposed to get on."

"Yeah, but he was using Amira as a bargaining chip. Would they have let him on without her?"

"I guess so, since he's still alive."

"_If_."

"Noah…"

"You sound like you _want_ him to be alive," Noah spat, turning his head and glaring up at his boyfriend.

"You sound like you need him to be dead," Luke replied gently, hands moving on autopilot.

"When your father kills your mother, attempts to kill an innocent man _and_ your boyfriend, and then kidnaps and tries to sell off a girl you've been destroying your life to protect, you kinda want him to not come back."

"Yeah, but Sergeant Morgan said that he's not even in the United States."

"And the Oakdale PD told me he was dead. I don't exactly trust authority when it comes to my dad anymore."

Luke's hands paused. "Is that why you were waiting at the corner?"

Noah buried his face in the pillow for a moment, letting the fabric muffle his sigh, before tucking in his head and letting his mouth surface. "About twenty feet from the house I realized that you were going to follow me…and there was no way I was going to let you walk home alone after hearing _that_."

Despite the events of the entire day, Luke smiled. "Well, if he _does_ come back to Oakdale, he has about…fifty Snyders waiting to kick the crap out of him, so…"

"How can you be so glib about this?" Noah propped himself up on his elbows and turned his head.

"Because…" Luke bent down to plant a kiss on Noah's lips "…I'm the openly gay heir of multibillionaires who've done their best to piss off everyone they possibly can; my life's in danger whenever I step out the front door. I refuse to live in fear, Noah. Besides which, he's been alive all this time and I'm still here, perfectly fine. When the psycho's actually in town, holding my little sisters hostage and waving a gun in my face…_then_ I'll be scared. Until then, the only thing I'm afraid of is how the fact that your dad survived is going to hurt you."

Luke pushed Noah back down and resumed kneading Noah's back. "But with that in mind," he continued, and Noah noticed a reluctant worried edge in Luke's voice, "we need to tell my family about this, just in case. I'm sure this'll totally make Dad's day."

"Damian should know, too," Noah said listlessly.

"You think so? He wasn't here back then…"

"My father thought the planets revolved around Maddie and he _still _did a background check on her. He's probably got your _dental records_ by now."

"Very true. And hey…now there's even less reason for us to worry. I've got the Maltese Mafia on my side."

Again the attempt to lighten the mood failed. Luke bit his lip and finally took his hands away. He managed to scoot backward slightly and then lean forward slowly until finally he was lying on top of Noah.

"You're heavy."

"Am I now." Luke failed to hold back a grin. "You don't often complain about that."

"Luke, please—"

"I don't want you to get caught up with this, Noah." Luke managed to push an arm in between Noah's chest and the mattress, and rested his free hand on the back of Noah's head. "I just want us to go on living as normally as possible. You spent eighteen years under his thumb, and not even two full years of just being yourself. I am _not_ going to let him take your freedom away from you."

"You're just…you're way too damn strong, Luke."

"Nah. Too stupid." Luke leaned over to give Noah another kiss, this time on the forehead. "And way too in love with you."

* * *

"Sergeant Morgan, I really want to thank you for speaking at Adam's funeral today."

"Please, just "Riley"." Riley smiled up from the couch at Margo as she handed him a cup of coffee. "And it wasn't a problem. He was a good man. I never knew what Adam had done that made him go to Afghanistan, but I think his work with our organization made up for anything that he could've done. There are some real horror stories out there. Especially when it comes to women."

"Adam rescued women?"

"Almost exclusively. I…figured there had to have been something personal behind it, but I never asked about it."

Margo smiled tightly, feeling a stinging sensation in her eyes. "Then…yes. I think he made up for it." She cleared her throat, blinking rapidly to hold back tears. "So…where are you headed now that you're back in the United States?"

"Omaha. My aunt and uncle live there." He allowed himself an affectionate chuckle. "Last time I checked, anyway. They're fairly nomadic; they were living in Los Angeles just last year."

"You live with your aunt and uncle?"

"My parents passed away when I was young. They took me in."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine; don't worry. Actually, though, could I possibly use your phone? They don't know I'm in Oakdale; I don't have a cell phone and didn't get a chance to use a pay phone before the memorial…"

"Oh, of course." Margo picked up the cordless telephone from the coffee table and handed it to him, before turning away to clear the placemats off the table as Riley dialed.

"Hello?…Hi, Uncle Owen, it's Riley. Is Aunt Ruth home?…Sure…oh hey, Aunt Ruth…Yeah, I'll be home soon…Oh yeah? That sounds good; I haven't had that since last year…well, if Amira's helping, it'll be ten times better. How is Amira, by the way?"

Margo stopped short. "Amira…" she whispered under her breath, trying to place the name. She'd been involved with Casey for a few weeks last year… 'Amira? Wasn't she Noah's…?'

Margo turned, placing a hand solidly on Riley's arm.

"One second, Aunt Ruth." Riley pressed the receiver against his shoulder. "Mrs. Hughes?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but that woman you just mentioned…could you tell me her full name, please?"

"You mean Ruth Mason or Amira Ali-Aziz?"

"…Both." Margo seemed to remember hearing Ruth's name in passing, and a sensation in her gut made her feel the name was important. "I'm really terribly sorry, but could I speak with your aunt for a moment?"

Riley looked puzzled, but handed the telephone to Margo.

"Hello?…Hi, my name is Margo Hughes; Riley attended my son's funeral…Thank you. I'm glad your nephew was able to come home safely. I have a question…did you ever send a package care of the Oakdale Police Department? To Noah Mayer?"

"Riley's in Oakdale?" Ruth said on the other end of line, making Amira look up, startled. "Has he spoken to Noah?"

"Yes, Noah was at my son's memorial."

"How were they together? After Noah didn't respond to my package I thought he wanted nothing to do with us."

"Noah…didn't seem to know who Riley was," Margo said, frowning. She glanced at Riley, who gave her a confused face. "Could you hold on one minute, Mrs. Mason, please?" Margo moved the receiver away from her mouth. "Was your mother named Charlene Wilson, Riley?"

"No."

"Riley's mother was Susanna Morgan," Ruth said, having heard Margo. "Susanna and Charlene were both my sisters."

"Then, yes, as far as I can fathom, this is news to Noah."

"What is?" Riley asked, frustration mixing into confoundedness.

"Riley," Margo offered the telephone back to him, "were you aware that you were speaking with your cousin?"

* * *

**Notes:**

According to my Teach Yourself Arabic book, "majjaanan" means "free; gratis", and according to my dictionary, "gratis" means "without charge". "al-" seems to serve the same function as "the", but I'm no expert. Hence I urge you to take the translation with a grain of salt. So too with "horiya"; I found that it meant "freedom" online.

The term "al-Majjaanan" is of my own making. However, despite freedom from slavery being declared a universal human right by the United Nations, around 27,000,000 people are illegally enslaved worldwide. Antarctica is the only continent on which slavery does not exist.

(Remove spaces to access links)

http://www .uk/collections/economicHistory/GEHN/GEHNPDF/Islam&SlaveryWGCS. pdf – Historical information on slavery in Islam

http://www /slavery_today/primer/index. html – Information on slavery as it exists today

http://www /mediterranean/mediterranean_property. jpg – General map of the area Winston Mayer is thought to be in…notice the little island nation in between Tunisia and Greece.

PS I know that if you watch the actual show, a lot of information given here doesn't add up. I've twisted myself into pretzels explaining all this away. Don't worry; you'll find out the whole story soon enough.


	2. Part I Chapter II

**Notes (PLEASE READ THESE!):** I've de-SORASed Ethan; we'll just pretend he was very articulate for a two-year-old at the time he was trapped in the sinkhole, and that they said "two" instead of "four" when Mike and Chris inquired about his age. So he's three now. Natalie's seven according to Wikipedia. I'll keep the SORASing of Faith, Aaron, and Abigail, making them sixteen, twenty-five, and twenty-eight, respectively. (Abigail might show up at some point, considering her foster family moved to Saudi Arabia.) As for Luke, he's twenty this year. (Same as me!)

Speaking of Aaron, I can't find out where the hell he is! The last I know of him is that he and Alison got divorced; I wasn't watching the show last year, so I don't know where he got off to after that. So for this story, you can assume he either stayed in Oakdale, or left and came back off-screen.

The Grimaldi family descends from a Genovese statesman, and through politics, war, and maritime expeditions, it became one of the most powerful families in Genoa. The family seized the castle of Monaco in 1297, and is still the ruling family of Monaco. A branch of the family sprung up in Sicily in the 1300s, so let's pretend that in 1734, when Spain took over Sicily, part of that branch moved to Malta. To prevent any problems regarding liability, and to be deliciously ironic, let's pretend that Damian's branch of the family started when a Grimaldi woman slept with a Spanish soldier and got pregnant. She was punished by having her child cut off from any business ventures (hence why Damian doesn't deal in the real-life Grimaldi Industri AB) and sent to Malta, but was still considered family and given inheritance money. We'll say that the new family bought land and got itself involved in trade, and after World War II (when Malta's economy slumped), they grew wealthier by forming Kingsley-Malta and trading limestone (Malta's prime export) for food and water (Malta can't produce most of its food and freshwater supplies). Then Kingsley-Malta grew into a conglomeration dealing with tourism, manufactured goods, and machinery/transport equipment (Malta's other industries).

Malta is comprised of three main islands and several smaller ones. Let's say that Damian's family's home base is on Manoel Island; that's a ritzy area close to the capitol. Let's also say that they own one VERY small cottage on Cominotto Island (which is 328 feet away from Comino, and has an area of 820 feet and a population of 0). Hit up Wikipedia and Yahoo Images for maps of these places.

Whilst we're talking about location, I'm placing Oakdale about thirty minutes north of Chicago, on Lake Michigan. I figure shipping on Lake Michigan brings them into Lake Huron (Huron and Michigan are technically the same lake), which eventually takes them to Ontario, Canada. Damian already has a shipping business set up here, as his little adventure in clearing Lucy's name showed us.

And speaking of names, I use "Romilly" as Emma's maiden name. Soap Central says the farm actually belongs to Emma's family, not her husband's.

Oh, and I imagine "Luke's Theme" to be "Your Blue Room" by U2, from the Beyond The Clouds soundtrack, and "It's Casey" to be "Going Away to College" by blink-182, but feel free to come up with your own.

The current date is Thursday, June 4th, 2009. For the sake of keeping focus let's pretend Eliza came home on June 2nd, 2009, the day before Adam's memorial.

* * *

Part I – Chapter II

* * *

"The bastard's _back?!_"

Luke cringed, covering Natalie's ears. "Not _back_, Dad. Just alive."

"How could this happen?" Lily bounced Ethan on her knees, calming and distracting him after Holden's outburst and hoping the catharsis would rub off on herself as well. When Luke announced over breakfast that he needed to call a family meeting later that day, the possibility of this had been the furthest thing from her mind. "Noah told us he was confirmed deceased."

"He was _declared_ deceased," Luke corrected. "There never was a body to back up that claim."

"Oh my God." Lily stood, too nervous to sit and clutching Ethan to her chest.

"Mom, don't panic," Luke pleaded, watching her pace behind the recliner. "The good news is that he's not in the country. According to Sergeant Morgan he's somewhere in southern Europe. Noah and I just thought that we should let you know in case the worst happens and he turns back up."

"Well, now's as good a time as any to start home-schooling the kids," Holden said, only half-joking, looking over to Lily.

"_Dad_—"

"No!" Holden snapped, turning to face his son again. "You're asking us not to panic; Luke, the man almost killed you!"

"I _don't want_ him to disrupt our lives, especially if he's not even on the same continent!"

"We just want to be cautious, Luke," Lily chimed in, changing locations to behind the sofa.

"And I'm all for that, but it's not like the man has just sprung back to life. He's been alive for a _year_ and we haven't heard a peep from him."

"Maybe not directly, but what about that hate mail?" Holden demanded. "And the hit-and-run? We never found out who was behind those."

"The world is full of bigots, Dad. They don't all have to be related to Noah."

"Where _is_ Noah?" Faith piped up from her seat on the couch, looking worried.

"He went to Lakeview to warn Damian."

"Alone?" Holden asked.

Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "He's panicky over the idea of me leaving the house."

"Good. He's got his head screwed on straight."

"No, he's _paranoid_, like you guys are getting."

"Luke? Have six kids. _Then_ talk to me about paranoia."

Natalie shifted nervously against Luke's stomach. Holden and Lily watched with some satisfaction as Luke instinctively moved to hold her in a more protective stance. Luke caught their almost smug expressions and bristled.

"Okay, all right, fine. I apologize for that. But I mean it. I'm not going to let his non-omnipresent threat dictate how we live our lives."

"And we won't allow that to happen, Luke," Lily assured, patting Ethan's back. "We just want to be safe."

* * *

Noah was surprised the speed of his heartbeat didn't influence how quickly he knocked on the door to Damian's hotel room.

"Who is it?"

"It's Noah."

The door was open in an instant. "Luke's not with you?"

"Ah, no…he had something important to discuss his family. It's the same thing I have to discuss with you. Can I come in?"

"Oh, of course, of course." Damian stepped back, holding the door open for Noah. "Would you like something to drink? I had Room Service bring up breakfast a few minutes ago."

"No thank you."

Damian closed the door. "Very well, then. Please, sit." Damian seated himself in the chair at the desk Lakeview provided; Noah sat down on the bed; his fingers loosely weaved themselves together and verves made his foot tap the floor. "What's this all about?"

"It's about my father." Noah inhaled deeply. "Has Luke told you anything about my dad? Colonel Winston Mayer?"

"No." Damian cocked his head. "Why?"

"My father…didn't take the news of my sexuality terribly well."

Damian paused in his slight movements. "Neither did Lily and I, as I'm sure you've been informed."

"Yeah, but what you did…kinda pales in comparison to his reaction."

"What happened?" Damian felt a pit forming in his belly.

"When he found out about me, he blamed Luke for "influencing" me. And my father is…trigger-happy, when he's angry."

For a moment Damian thought he felt every function in his body cease. "He shot Luciano?"

Noah nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Luke was partially paralyzed for a few months two years ago."

"While I was in Malta…dear God." Damian clenched his fist and struggled not to slam it against something. "Of course I was not told."

"It's not something we talk about much, to anyone," Noah said hurriedly. "That's not the issue at the moment, anyway. The problem is that my father escaped from prison last year. He took a hostage with him to Brooklyn, and we followed him. I…watched him dive into the Hudson River, and when he didn't come up…he was presumed dead."

"And that was not the case," Damian guessed flatly.

"We found out yesterday that he's still alive and kicking and trafficking humans."

"I beg pardon?" Damian blinked, leaning forward.

Noah spit out the words like sour milk. "My father's been implicated in a slavery ring that operates out of the Middle East."

"Is he there now?"

"No. The, ah, latest intelligence is that he's somewhere between Tunisia and Greece."

"Tu—…you said Tunisia and Greece?"

"Yeah." Noah suddenly saw an ear-splitting grin on Damian's lips. "Damian? What is it?"

"Do you happen to know what lies between Tunisia and Greece, Noah?" Noah shook his head, slowly. "Malta." A look of pure glee radiated from Damian's face as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, we don't know exactly where he is," Noah said quickly. "For all we know he's just between those longitudinal lines. It's just an estimation."

"The Grimaldi family has branches all over the area, from Malta to Monaco to our birthplace in Genoa. If he is anywhere near Italy, my family can find him." Damian rose with a sudden, subtle burst of energy. "What was your father's name again, Noah?"

"Winston Mayer, but…Damian, what are you planning?" Noah stood as well, as Damian went for his cell phone.

"I'm merely making a call to my Uncle Clemente." Damian quickly punched in the phone number. "If the Colonel shows up, I'd like to know about it."

"And if he does?" Noah felt his heart drop into his intestines at the sadly sympathetic look Damian sent him. "Are you putting a _hit_ on my father?"

"Understand this, Noah," Damian snapped, the growl of a bear taking over his voice. "_No one_ hurts my Luciano, and gets away with it. No one." Damian flipped his phone closed to Noah's shocked silence. "Odd. Clemente always picks up; the man never leaves Cominotto."

"Would you seriously have him killed?"

"The last person who tried to kill my son, I let walk free."

"Dante?" Luke's biography felt permanently etched into Noah's brain.

"Were it not for Holden's cousin, my son might have died. I can't rely on that luck again. Since he is your father, if we find him in Malta, I will simply have him turned over to the proper authorities. But let him set foot on American soil, and I will not hesitate to break his neck."

Noah struggled to put the image out of his mind. He took a shaky step backwards.

"One moment." Noah felt as if Damian's cold stare reached out like vines, tendrils holding him rooted in place. "Obviously there is a conflict of interest here. I'm curious as to your plans should we find the Colonel."

"If I just find out where he is, I'll make sure the cops know." Noah swallowed, feeling his nerves set. "But if he comes after Luke, or Luke's family…I won't allow them to be hurt."

Damian assessed Noah with his gaze. Against his will and genetic logic, Damian saw elements of Holden—elements he would never admit to admiring and moreover envying—thriving in his son's boyfriend.

"Do you love your father, Noah?"

"I…" The door of memory stayed defiantly cracked open in Noah's mind, dim colored lights just barely illuminating the floor. "I don't know."

"Forgive my rudeness," Damian said after a moment of silence.

"It's fine," Noah mumbled. "Luke's your son."

"And Winston Mayer is your father. Of course you wouldn't want to see him killed. Not in cold blood, at least. I didn't want to see my brother dead, either." The paternal glint in Damian's eye changed from aggressive to concerned. "Are you sure you don't want something? You look shaken."

"No, I…I should be getting back to Luke."

"I'll go with you."

Noah rested his hand on the doorknob. "Luke's not going to be happy with that. The Snyders are probably taping themselves together right now, and last thing he wants is a change in routine."

"You forget, changing the routine between myself and my son is the point of my being in Oakdale," Damian said, a sad shadow of the grin from before sitting on his face. "And perhaps everyone will be distracted by the inevitable fisticuffs between myself and Holden," he added, allowing himself amusement. "Surely _that_ would be normal enough."

A corner of Noah's lip turned up in spite of himself, but before Damian could see it, the ring tone Noah had dubbed "Luke's Theme" had Noah immediately reaching for the phone. "Hi, how'd it go?"

"Dad's probably on the computer right now looking for tutors for the girls, and we'll all be drinking out of hip flasks soon enough."

"I bet they appreciate the sarcasm."

"Haha. The irony; it is so clever. Anyway, I wanted to tell you to come to the farm when you're done there."

"Why?"

"Mom called Grandma to tell her about this, and Grandma wanted us to come over and talk about it in person." Again Noah noted Luke's nonchalance fighting back anxiety. "Since your father might think we're still living at the farm."

"Okay, we'll meet you there."

""We"? Damian's coming with you?"

"He said he wanted to see you…do you not want him to?" Noah glanced back at Damian, whose face seemed purposely blank.

"Damian at the farm? That should go over well…yeesh… Aunt Meg would probably be happy to see him, and no one wants to upset her right now…as long as he knows it's at his own risk, I'm not going to stop him."

"I'm sure he's fully aware of that anyway. Okay, we'll be leaving in a couple seconds."

"K…" Noah heard muffled sounds, and then a sigh. "Natalie instructs me to tell you that if you see the Colonel, run him over. Twice."

Noah's lip twitched. "That's morbid."

"Yeah, well…she loves you."

"I love her too. And I'm glad you guys are sticking together. I know," Noah said before Luke could object, "that this feels like him "winning" to you. But as far as I'm concerned he can have his empty victories. I win by keeping all of you alive."

"…Argh. Your stubborn practicality is eroding my plucky idealism."

Noah allowed himself to laugh. "It's about time. All right, we'll meet you in a bit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you there. I love you."

"Same here." Noah flipped his phone shut and looked back at Damian. "They're at the farm." He thought he saw Damian's face light up for a moment.

"Then let's not waste time."

They were halfway down the stairs when another ring tone known to Noah as "It's Casey" sang out from within the recesses of Noah's pocket. "Hey."

"Hey, man. Uh…where are you right now?"

"Lakeview." Noah noticed Dusty and Bonnie sitting at the bar and gave them an acknowledging wave. "Why?"

"Is there any possible way you could get to my house? Like, now?"

"Actually I'm heading over to the farm…what's the matter?"

"The farm?" Noah heard Casey put his hand over the receiver and stifled sounds before Casey returned. "That's…that's cool, man. That will probably work out better, actually."

"Casey, what are you talking about?"

Noah heard a sharp exhalation. "This really isn't something to do over the phone…" Intuitively hearing Noah's anxious silence, Casey rushed in with reassurance. "It's got nothing to do with your father! Mom told me about that last night. We haven't heard anything about him. But there are people here who…oh, man…look, I'll just take them up to the farm and they can explain everything there, okay?"

"Casey, you're freaking me out. What's going on?"

"Nothing, there's just…just people you need to talk to. Look, I promise it's not bad. Just important."

"Ok" slipped reluctantly out of Noah's mouth.

"I'll see you there, man."

"Yeah…see you there." Noah hung up and glanced over to Damian. "We're going to have company at the farm."

"Trouble?"

"I don't know. Casey doesn't think so, but—"

"Call the farm. Let them know."

"_Way_ ahead of you," Noah said, thumb flying across the keypad on his cell phone.

* * *

Emma looked up, smiling tightly, as she heard the hinges of the front door creak and her youngest son's family entered. "Noah just called," she said as Natalie presented herself for a hug and kiss.

"Is there a problem?" Luke asked, a little too quickly for his taste.

"He said that your friend Casey called, and that there were people Noah had to meet. Who are apparently on the way here."

"Did he say who they were?" Holden demanded before Luke or Lily could.

"No." Emma bit her lip. "He told me that Casey said there was no danger, but he's afraid of the possibility that Casey was being forced to speak."

"Is Jack home?"

"Right here," Jack said from the bottom of the staircase, and Luke noticed the flash of light against the black steel of Jack's gun, hidden behind his belt.

"Natalie, sweetie?" Lily reached forward and pulled her youngest daughter towards her, Ethan held firmly in her other arm. "Let's go out to the barn, okay? Faith, come with us."

"Janet and Sage are already out there," Jack said. "Liberty's with Brad; Meg took Eliza to the pediatrician."

"Luke, maybe you should join them," Holden said as Lily glanced back at him from the entranceway to the parlor.

"Absolutely not."

"Luke, if it's Mayer then you're gonna be the first one he goes after."

"I'm not going anywhere until I see Noah."

"Luke," Jack said, interrupting the futile argument he sensed coming. "At least stay out of sight."

"Mama, you too," Holden said, turning from his son to his mother.

"No." Emma's face was pale but set. "If they're not a threat, then I have to welcome them to my home. If they are…this farmhouse has belonged to the Romillys for years. I will not be chased from it."

"Mama—"

The sounds of the screen door to the vestibule opening and slamming shut silenced the group of four. Before Luke could protest Holden grabbed his arm and pulled him against the counter as Holden slammed against the refrigerator. Jack hung back, one hand on the knob to the staircase doors; the other holding onto his gun.

"Who's there?" Emma called, almost hiding the shake in her voice.

"It's Casey…with some people," a recognizable male voice called back, and Casey's face appeared behind the screen. "Can we come in?"

"Who's with you?" Holden said, voice stronger than his mother's.

"Well…there's someone you guys know pretty well," Casey said, and Luke felt Holden's grip on him tighten.

The Snyders felt an eternity pass until a woman's voice, slow and small and familiar, replaced Casey's. "Luke? It's…it's Amira."

Another woman's voice floated through the screen. "Amira, how do you know—"

Finally managing to see the group congregated around Casey, Jack's tense frame relaxed and he reached to open the door, though one hand remained steadfastly on his gun. Luke's shocked eyes took in the sight of Amira walking first through the doorway. Riley followed her, nodding a greeting to Luke. Holding on maternally to Riley's elbow was a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman Luke would have guessed was Lily's age had Amira's appearance allowed abstract thought.

"—the people who…" The woman cut herself off as she looked around the room. "Is Noah here?"

"Oh, well, can we first have your name, please?" Emma said, nervously running a hand towel plucked from the table through her fingers. Her gaze darted back and forth between Jack and the visitors.

"Oh, I apologize," the woman said. "My name is Ruth Mason. I'm Noah's—"

Jack jerked forward suddenly, pulling his gun completely out, causing Emma to release a small shriek. Instinct made Riley pull Ruth and Amira close to his body while Jack trained his gun on the doorway.

"Officer Snyder, what the…it's just Noah and Damian!" Casey yelped, planting his hand over his heart as Noah and Damian entered the kitchen.

"Luke, what's…" Noah stopped suddenly, eyes finally fully taking in the scene before him. "Amira, what…?"

Any noise anyone could have made was suddenly cut off by a cry halfway between regret and unmitigated joy erupting from Ruth's throat. Extricating herself from Riley's grasp she almost tripped on her way towards Noah.

"It's really you. Char's little boy…" Her eyes were bright; Noah's hands disappeared between hers. "Oh, God, seventeen years..."

"Who are—"

"Aunt Ruth." The shine in her eyes disappeared behind a mask of lid and lash. "I'm your Aunt Ruth."


	3. Part I Chapter III

**Disclaimer:** I do not own As the World Turns.

**Notes:** I can take back my previous note regarding Aaron; I found out that he's back in Seattle.

* * *

Part I – Chapter III

* * *

"My…my what?"

Her eyes flew open, purposely made dry. "Ruth…Ruth Mason. I'm the one who sent you that box." Ruth released Noah's hands, her face flushing. "I'm sorry; I know you probably don't want anything to do with me, but when I found out you met Riley, I…you're almost twenty and I haven't seen you since you were three. I couldn't deal with that anymore, and Amira convinced me that we should come see you so I just got on the first plane before I could change my mind."

"Okay, wait a moment," Holden said, releasing Luke but in doing so pushing his son behind him. He glanced at Jack, who gave a slight nod and pocketed his gun and his hand along with it. "Explain this from the beginning."

"What's with the gun?" Riley demanded, his arm still protectively slung around Amira.

"We've been expecting unwelcome company," Jack answered.

"Unwelcome…? Noah, I told you this had nothing to do with your father," Casey said.

"Noah was afraid that you were being forced to speak," Damian explained.

"Guys. Guys…guys!" Luke finally shouted, and the din settled unevenly. "Can we start this over, please?" Luke moved past his father to put his hand on Noah's arm; Noah was stiff and unresponsive to the touch.

"Hold it." Jack cast his suspicious glance at Riley. "Who's this?"

"This is Sergeant Riley Morgan. He was at Adam Hughes's memorial yesterday," Luke said. Riley took his military ID from his pocket and held it up for Jack to scrutinize. After a few seconds, Jack's hold on his weapon finally relaxed.

"Won't…won't you sit down?" Emma said, dropping her hand towel on the back of a chair and stepping back to gesture to her table.

The normality of Emma's steadfast politeness was enough to shock Noah's brain into working again. "_You're_ Ruth Mason?"

Ruth nodded quickly as she took the seat playing host to Emma's towel.

"Luke, I'm going to get everyone from the barn," Holden said as Riley and Amira took seats on either side of Ruth. Luke nodded his acknowledgment as he and Noah took seats opposite Ruth. He took hold of Noah's hand under the table. Damian and Jack stood, like sentinels, by the door. Emma went to the stove, working on the dinner that worry had forced her to neglect; Casey awkwardly joined her a handful of seconds later.

"Mrs. Mason? I'm sorry; I think Noah's going into overload," Luke said, looking into the woman's face radiating the hope that Noah would say something.

"Oh, of course, of course. This is too much for anyone." Ruth ran a hand nervously through her hair. "So…I can take it that you didn't read my letter?"

"What letter?" Noah managed to force from his mouth.

"It was with the box. I sent it with your mother's things."

"It must have gotten mixed up with the ones from your mother," Luke said to Noah before looking at Ruth. "Noah never finished reading all the letters. It was…too hard."

"So…so you didn't write me off?" Ruth's face was the one of someone witnessing a miracle. "I was so afraid that you were too angry…"

"Angry? Why would I…?" If asked sometime in the future, Noah would swear that he felt his mind escaping from his head through his ears. "Can you…can you start from the beginning, please?"

"Absolutely." Ruth fidgeted, crossing her hands in her lap. "Charlene—your mother—had two sisters. There's me—Ruth, the youngest—and Susanna was the oldest. Susanna married Dylan Morgan and had Riley a few years before Charlene and…before Charlene had you." Storm clouds drifted into Ruth's eyes at the thought of her former brother-in-law. "Susie and Dylan…there was a car crash when Riley was just a toddler," she reached out to squeeze Riley's hand, "and they'd specified for me to get custody. They weren't fans of your father, either. Do you remember this at all? You were only three when you went away, but you and Riley played together all the time."

"I don't…I don't recall." It was only when Luke shifted that Noah noticed the death grip he had on his boyfriend's hand. Try as he might he couldn't force himself to loosen his hold.

"It's just as well you don't." Ruth pressed her lips together. "Seventeen years ago, your father sent Char to my house with a face full of bruises and a warning to never come back. We…discussed our options for hours. She wanted to stay in your life, but we had Riley to think about. We knew you were safe—that man was obsessed with you—but he'd go for the throat with anyone else, even if they were innocent."

Luke felt Noah twitch violently, and slid his free hand around Noah's arm.

"We decided that the best thing was for me to move and cut off contact with you. You were too young to even remember us. So I went to Memphis. She stayed in Georgia." The storm clouds in Ruth's eyes began to relinquish rain. "Char missed you so much. We both did. It broke her heart to get all those letters returned. And the last one came back with a death threat, so she had to flee…she came here, to Oakdale. When the police sent me the notification that Winston killed her—"

"Aunt Ruth, don't do this to yourself," Riley said, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. Luke bit his lip and felt the hitch in Noah's breathing shudder throughout his body; the precursor to his own tears.

"No, your cousin has the right to know!" Ruth yelped, furiously wiping at her eyes. "Noah, I knew it had something to do with you; that you'd be here. I could barely bring myself to send you that box. But I'd just gotten married and we were moving to LA; I couldn't bear to take her things with me. And I wanted you to know her. You _could_, now that she had nothing left to lose."

Her last words were lost in a sob and buried underneath the sudden bang of Emma slamming a serving dish of spaghetti in the middle of the table. The matriarch's sympathy and righteous fury shown in her eyes as she pulled the towel off the chair and held it to Ruth's face.

"Please, let's have no more of this…unpleasantness right now," Emma said. "I have more than enough food waiting to get eaten. Let's have dinner and continue this discussion afterwards."

"Grandma…" Luke almost nervously laughed out. Noah bent his head, hiding his face in his hand; Luke moved his free hand to squeeze Noah's leg.

"We can't impose," Riley said.

"Nonsense. You're Noah's aunt and cousin, and his friend." She directed her smile at Amira, who ducked her head. "That makes you family. And speaking of…" A small group had congregated at the border of the kitchen and parlor. Emma's grin widened as she beckoned for them to come into the kitchen. "Everyone, this is Ruth Mason, Noah's aunt, and Riley, Noah's cousin. And you all of course remember Amira."

Riley and a teary-eyed Ruth sent confused looks at Amira, but questions were cut off. "Noah has been staying with the family for almost two years," Emma continued, and gestured to each member of the Snyder clan as she listed them off. "I'm Emma Snyder; this is my son Holden and his wife Lily, and their children, Faith, Natalie, Ethan, and Luke's sitting with Noah. That's my nephew Jack and his wife, Janet, and his daughter Sage. You've met Casey, obviously; he's a friend to Luke and Noah. And that's Damian…a family friend. My daughter Meg and her baby Eliza will be back from the doctor's soon."

Ruth wiped all but the most stubborn moisture from her eyes and smiled weakly. "Thank you for opening up your home to Noah."

"It's no trouble at all. Noah's become one of the family," Lily said, gently patting Noah's shoulder. Noah looked up; his eyes were squinted to hold back saltwater.

"I'm so glad he's found people like that. I was so afraid the only family he'd ever have would be his father."

"We make good in-laws," Natalie said, smiling proudly.

"_Nat!_" Luke hissed.

"I'm sorry?" Ruth blinked.

"The Noah's Family Litmus Test," Luke heard Noah mumble, and suddenly his hand was on the table, still gripped tightly in Noah's.

"Maybe we should go back to the barn," Faith said after a few moments of silence and Ruth's shocked expression.

"Dinner is ready, everyone," Emma said, now bustling around the kitchen. "Jack, Holden, bring out the other table."

"You didn't mention this on the phone," Ruth said, turning to Riley.

"Janet, can you call Meg and see where she and Eliza are?" Emma said loudly, nearly shoving a salad bowl into Casey's hands. "Casey, I'm assuming you're staying."

"And you?" Ruth turned on Amira, flinging the words at her like an accusation. "Since it appears you've been hiding things from me for almost a year. What all do you know about my nephew?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mason, but—" Holden started.

"This isn't the best time to discuss it," Damian and Holden finished together, before sending each other half-hearted glares. The slightly sick looks on Luke and Noah's faces pushed their perennial enmity far into the background.

"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry," Ruth said, her face betraying her shame at her breach of etiquette. "I'm…just a little taken aback, that's all."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mason," Amira said, her hands clasped together on the table. "I should've told you."

"This is the family in L.A. your mother knew?" Luke said, shifting his hand to let Noah know that his fingers were pressed uncomfortably into Luke's palm.

Amira shook her head and looked down, studying the table intently. "There was no family. I just couldn't stay here any longer."

"Can anyone please tell me what is going on?" Ruth said, flustered, her face growing pink.

"Mrs. Mason…Noah and I were married."

The rest of the kitchen continued to busy themselves—some taking seats, some bustling food aimlessly about the room, some disappearing into the parlor—but fell silent, surrendering the hope of a few stolen moments of peace.

"_What_?"

Amira shifted, gaze darting between Ruth, Riley, and Noah. "I haven't been…_completely_ honest with any of you. For several reasons, I haven't been able to tell any of you my entire story. But all of you deserve to know the truth. Mrs. Mason…" Her glance finally settled on Ruth. "I've known about the Mayer family since I was two years old. My father died during the Gulf War and, for protection, my mother attached herself to Colonel Mayer."

"…Yes." Ruth's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Issnat."

"'Ismat," Amira corrected. "You knew of her?"

"Winston wrote to Charlene about her. So often that Char thought…" Ruth stopped, her face beginning to flush. "Winston claimed there was nothing between him and that…your mother."

"According to my mother, there wasn't back then," Amira said coolly. "He was saving our lives, Mrs. Mason. Al-Majjaanan…my father's family was, _is_ involved in it. With my father gone, there was no need to keep his useless widow and baby. Colonel Mayer sent us money to pay off my relatives. Riley's organization didn't exist back then."

Amira moved again, now to face Noah. "This was all under-the-table, Noah. The diplomacy of the situation is very messy. This is why you never heard of me before I came to America. I'm not sure what the Colonel was doing half the time was entirely legal. But he managed to keep us alive and safe until he was sent back in 2003. That's when he and my mother…were together. When he came back home he continued sending us money until he was jailed. And by that time…my mother had inhaled something a bombing uncovered, and it burned her lungs. She passed not long after. And then it was just myself…and my father's family."

The memory of the first time he saw Amira, a timid stranger holding herself so tightly that words were trapped inside, flashed through Noah's mind, and his mouth went dry. "What did they do to you?"

"They made me an offer," Amira said, her voice beginning to shake. "They needed someone who would fly under the radar. Money can be hidden inside a burqa…and no one's going to question a group of women sitting together in a boarded-up house."

Ruth stood up suddenly, the back of her chair scraping the floorboards. The color of her face was beginning to rival the sauce atop the spaghetti. "How _could_ you?!"

"I told myself that anywhere they went would be better than Iraq," Amira said, voice thick and eyes glittering. "I might have been right. Three weeks in there was a terrorist attack. I was staying with two girls in the house when a bomb went off outside. The house was destroyed and I…I was the only one to survive."

Amira's hands flew to her eyes and the entire room fell silent. Slowly Ruth sank back into her chair.

"I ran," Amira said, lowering her hands to reveal eyes still full of tears. "The attack caused a lot of confusion and I used that to escape. I went to another town and told the local authorities what my family had been doing for almost twenty years. They arrested the few members of my family that they could find. The ones they couldn't find…came after me. I had to run again. I told the authorities in the next city I went to that my name was Amira—it was a nickname the Colonel had given me; I made up the rest—and that my family had been killed in a bombing. Then I used the money that was on me when the house was destroyed to get a visa and come here. I went to Missouri to find the Colonel but, obviously, he wasn't there. I eventually managed to find Noah here in Oakdale, when my visa was set to expire, and to keep me in the country he married me."

"But he…did you know all this, Noah?" Ruth asked.

"No," slipped quietly out of Noah's mouth, his unbelieving gaze fixed on Amira.

"None of us did," Luke said more forcefully, pulling Noah's hand protectively off the table, away from Amira.

"I thought that, once my citizenship was secure, I might be able to raise awareness on al-Majjaanan, but I didn't want to risk broaching the issue with my status so uncertain," Amira said miserably. "There was only one person I told…the Colonel. While I was married to Noah," she again addressed Ruth, "the Colonel contacted us from prison. At the time I still felt indebted to him, and when he asked why I was going by my nickname…I had kept it bottled up, and I'd been able to trust him before…I told him everything."

"_You don't know this girl as well as you think,"_ Noah heard Winston smugly assert in his mind.

"When the Colonel escaped, he came here asking me for help, and because I still trusted him I let him take me to Brooklyn. And as it turned out his plan was to sell me back to al-Majjaanan in exchange for travel papers. I'd most likely be dead right now if Noah and Luke hadn't come to my rescue."

Ruth sent a look of mixed admiration and questioning at Noah, who ducked his head to let Amira continue.

"I was put in touch with the ACLU, and I told them about al-Majjaanan. They told me they would sue for asylum for me. But I was too scared to stay in New York. The people who gave Colonel Mayer the papers might find me there. And I didn't want to return to Oakdale to cause Noah more trouble. So I went with my lawyer to Los Angeles, and that's where I met the Masons. After my case was over—two months ago—my lawyer was set to move back to New York, and the Masons were set to move to Omaha. Ruth invited me to go with them."

"But they didn't know about your life in Iraq?" Luke piped up.

"I'm the only one who knew up until this point," Riley said. "I was able to come home right before the move, when Amira first came to stay with us, and once I told her what kind of organization I was involved in, she told me what she knew. We've done great work in Iraq because of her information." His mouth formed a wry smile. "If only she'd been from Afghanistan; we need that sort of luck there."

"Owen—my husband—and I only knew she was applying for asylum, not why," Ruth said tightly. "She told me absolutely nothing about Noah or what her childhood was like."

"I didn't know about you either, Noah," Riley said.

"I was advised to try to keep as much about my life under wraps," Amira said quietly. "My ability to stay in this country is still tenuous. The fact of coercion is all that keeps me from being held as an international criminal. The ICE has not been my biggest supporter, either… If I'd known that you were related, I might have told you, but the first I heard of it was yesterday. There'd only ever be one reason for me to return to Oakdale, and I figured I'd be able to make up some excuse when the time came. And that brings us to this…"

Amira reached down to the floor where she had set her purse, and from within it drew a set of folded papers.

"After I was granted asylum my lawyer managed to get the annulment papers completely drawn up. He told me it might be better if I didn't pursue it immediately, considering my situation, but it isn't fair to you to prolong this. I was planning on coming here before the end of summer, and this visit gave me the perfect opportunity." Amira unfolded the papers, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Noah. "I signed already. Once you do, too, we can go to a judge and make our separation legal."

Luke was the one to pick up the papers when after several moments Noah didn't move. He allowed himself a half-second of feeling as if the world's most precious diamond sat in his hand.

"This is…a bit much to take in all at once," Lily finally said, breaking the shocked silence that had afflicted the entire room.

"Yes, yes it is," Ruth said, slowly pushing her chair back and rising. "I'm…I'm terribly sorry, everyone…Amira…" She floundered, looking for that intangible something to salvage her composure. "Lily, was it? Could you possibly show me to the ladies' room?"

"Absolutely," Lily said, making her way towards the door leading to the stairs. Ruth followed her, power-walking.

"Holden, Jack, I still think the second table is in order," Emma said, somewhat weaker than before, as Lily shut the door behind herself and Ruth.

"Sorry I'm late, Mama; the appointment ran longer than—oh, we have guests?" Meg stood in the doorway, holding Eliza.

Damian glanced at his son and Noah, and crossed the room towards the door, much in the same manner as Ruth. "Meg, may I speak to you out there?"

"Oh, I suppo—" The last part of the word was lost behind the screen door closing.

"Excuse us for just a minute," Luke said, rising, the annulment papers and Noah's hand still clutched tightly in either of his own hands. The two crossed paths with Janet, Sage, and Natalie entering the dining room from the parlor.

"So…" Casey haltingly took the seat Luke had abandoned, still unconsciously holding the salad bowl to his chest. "So Amira's a nickname, huh?" Amira nodded. "What's your real name? If, if you don't mind telling me…"

"Fayza." Her real name felt good in her mouth, just as it had delighted her eyes to see it on the annulment papers. "Fayza al-Karima bint Asim al-Fawi."

* * *

"Thank you for showing me up here."

"It's not a problem at all," Lily said, smiling warmly. "You needed a moment after tonight's…conversation."

Ruth dug her fingers into her purse, searching for nothing in particular. "I can't…I really can't wrap my brain around it."

"Amira?"

"Well, everything that's happened between yesterday and today, but yes. Mainly Amira. She's just…so quiet. Innocent, almost. I can't imagine her being caught up in something like that."

"I think it's just the Curse of Oakdale," Lily said, her smile taking on a teasing edge. "There seems to be an unwritten rule that anyone who lives in Oakdale for any amount of time must have experienced something horrible," she explained to Ruth's confused look. "And if it hasn't happened yet, it will. "There are more things 'twixt Heaven and Earth…" and they've all happened here."

"Ha! I can imagine. My husband travels, and he's been through this town, actually, quite a few times. He's told me about some of your headlines." She finally settled on drawing out a tube of lipstick and reapplying it to her still perfectly painted lips.

"What are you planning to do?"

"What _can_ I do?" Ruth capped the lipstick and dropped it back into the recesses of her handbag. "Riley knows about her past, and he's very protective of me…if she were a danger he would have had her arrested. Of course, I think he's a bit sweet on her, but I don't think he'd allow a little crush to cloud his judgment. And it's not like throwing her out would do any good…those poor girls are still slaves, or dead. And God forbid I toss her out and some AM agent grabs her; I would never forgive myself…"

"AM?"

"Al-Majjaanan. Riley gives the abbreviation in his letters, to be safe. He hasn't been with his organization for terribly long, but he works so hard, you'd think he'd been there since its inception."

"You must worry about him."

"Constantly. Thankfully he hasn't re-enlisted for combat duty, but this organization works all over the world, so he'll still be fighting the slave trade at home. You know, most soldiers' families can stop worrying about them being blown up when they come back home. _I_…every day I'm waiting for a box of Riley's remains to show up on my doorstep." She looked almost guiltily at Lily, whose face had gone slightly pink. "I'm sorry; this is so morbid…"

"No, no, it's all right. I'm just remembering…I lost my nephew Bryant a few years back in a car accident, and I remember what it was like, waiting in the hospital for news of him. To feel like that twenty-four/seven…"

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Ruth said, gently touching Lily's arm even as her gaze fell. "I lost my oldest sister and her husband—Riley's parents—the same way." She glanced up, eyes pleading for Lily to allow a change of subject. "I…I take it you have a sister?"

"Three. Sierra is the oldest and lives in Montega. Bianca is the youngest; she lives in New York. And Rose…Rose was my twin. She passed away six years ago. It was an accidental poisoning."

"My God…it must have been awful."

"One of the worst times of my life," Lily said, feeling a knot forming in her throat.

"That was what it was like when Susanna died. All I could do was thank God that I had Riley. And my husband, when Charlene passed. And now I have…"

"You know, after Rose died we found out that she'd had a daughter," Lily said, after Ruth surrendered herself to silence. "Rose had given the baby up and never told anyone about her; we found out because my niece—Jade—had searched us out. It's wonderful, having a little piece of Rose. Though Jade was…not exactly what I would have expected."

"How so?"

"She was…well, something of a compulsive liar. Sneaky, manipulative, a thief…she caused a lot of trouble."

"…Oh."

"I could forgive her eventually, though. She was that way because it was how she knew to survive. She couldn't help it. And even though she went about getting it the wrong way, deep down she wanted the love of a family. Her being Rose's daughter made it slightly easier for me to accept her, I must admit…"

"Hmm?" Ruth cocked her head at Lily's pointed tone.

"I saw how you reacted when you saw that Noah was with my son. I had a difficult time when Luke came out to me," Lily continued in a rush before Ruth had a chance to speak. "But eventually I accepted him, because he's my son and I can never stop loving him. And I'm sorry; I don't want to be rude, but I say this because of my nephew and sister and niece, because I know that there's nothing more important in this life than family, even when they're not what you want them to be."

Lily's hope was suspended mid-air inside her, as Ruth didn't immediately reply. Ruth instead ran her hand through her hair and glanced at the sink, as if looking at a fixture would steady her.

"You have this picture in your mind," she finally said. "I…I always imagined him as growing up to be fair-haired. Because Charlene was blonde, I suppose. He'd be taller than me but not than her. And…you know what Charlene's profession was?" Lily nodded. "We fought a lot over that…I couldn't, didn't want to see Noah tangled up in something so…I wanted Noah to be normal. I would imagine Noah at this age head-over-heels for some girl, quibbling with whomever that it doesn't matter how young they are, he's _committed_ to her."

"Noah and Luke will have been together two years this fall," Lily said. "They've had…I think two major fights, but they just can't seem to stay away from each other. It's really not my place to tell you the details, but they've been through a lot of awful things together. I have never seen two people so committed to each other. I know exactly what you're thinking right now. My ex-husband—Luke's father—and I thought the same things. And we were wrong. All you have to do is watch them; when you see two happy, _healthy_ young men in a strong relationship, you feel like a fool for thinking anything else was possible."

"You're very passionate about this."

"Discrimination in general is unacceptable to me. But when it comes specifically to this…Noah's been an absolute angel. Much better than my niece when she first came here. And he loves my son very much. I wasn't exaggerating when I said he's become part of the family. Holden and I consider him our son-in-law. And we saw how lonely and sad he was when…when he lost his immediate family. I just don't want him to go through that kind of pain again."

"I know." Ruth raked her fingers through and then fluffed her hair. "Now I'm really, truly grateful that Noah found this family."

"So, you're…?"

"It's not my ideal world, but neither is playing hostess to someone with Amira's past." Ruth looked up, the corner of her lip tilted up. "I can't throw Amira out because I love her. She's been such a good friend to me ever since we met in LA, and she's becoming family to me. Noah is my nephew. No matter what my mind says, in my heart he's always going to be that little toddler running to his "Aunt Roof" because Riley's throwing snowballs at him. And nothing short of him becoming Winston Jr. could make me love him any less than I always have."

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Noah allowed Luke to gently push him into sitting on the sofa. "I mean, I get my family and my annulment papers all in one fell swoop…but to hear all that about my mother and Amira…I'm a little shell-shocked, I guess."

"Okay." Luke let himself chuckle as he sat beside his boyfriend. "'Cause when you didn't pick up those papers, you had me worried for a second."

"Ha. Believe me, I've been waiting for this for a year; I'd be slightly more ecstatic if it was seemly."

"Leave it to you to use a word like "seemly"." Luke smiled and leaned over to kiss Noah.

"I can't believe Amira would be capable of actually helping the slave trade."

"I don't think she had any other choice, though," Luke said, grin disappearing as he settled back onto the sofa cushions. "It would have continued whether she helped or not, and this way she's still alive to tell others about it."

"That doesn't make what she did right."

"No, it doesn't. But it's not as wrong as we could make it out to be."

"You're something else, you know that?" Noah's arms snaked around Luke's body, meeting at the small of his back and pulling him closer. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who can match your level of compassion."

"Hey, _you're_ the one who married her. Speaking of, careful; don't wrinkle the papers." Luke's grin had grown back; he moved the annulment papers so they were no longer sandwiched between two bodies. "How do you think your aunt's taking it?"

"I have no idea. She seems very kind, though. I mean, people don't invite foreigners to move with them from California to Nebraska. Well…I know some people who _would_," he jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen and its inhabitants, "but you guys aren't really representative of the population. And she didn't seem set to throw Amira out, even when she had that outburst, so…"

"I'm glad that you're related to someone like that. _Hopefully_ like that."

"It's a step up from prostitutes and murderers." Noah bit the inside of his lip.

"Speaking of…how do you think she'll take _us_?"

"She didn't seem thrilled to find out."

"Yeah." Luke frowned. "I'd think Amira being involved in the slave trade tops you being involved with me, but people are so weird when it comes to this."

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the absolute last thing she wants to deal with…"

"You should be negative three. Million." Luke planted another quick kiss on Noah's lips. "She was really happy to see you when you both first got here; I'd think she'd be at least civil considering how much she obviously loved your mother. And you, when you were little."

"I don't really have _memories_ of either of them, but I sorta recall my aunt's face…and snow. I'm ninety-eight percent sure my mother was there that day, too, because I remember a woman with blonde hair. I wasn't a happy camper that time, if I recall correctly."

"Probably because I was pelting you with snowballs." Luke and Noah both turned in the direction of the entrance to the parlor; Riley stood leaning against the wall. "You were such a wuss back then," Riley continued, the corner of his lip turned up. "You tattled the hell out of me. Aunt Ruth actually _spanked_ me for that day. In her defense though, there _were_ rocks in a few of them."

"…Sorry about that." Noah stood; Luke did likewise a second after. "And I'm sorry for my rudeness yesterday."

Riley shook his head. "It's not a big deal. Aunt Ruth and Amira reacted similarly when I told them. Uncle Owen has the good fortune of never running across the man."

"Amira's information…has really helped you?"

"Immeasurably. It appears her father's family was the real backbone of the trade in Iraq, and once she gave us their names and locations, we managed to break them. There's still human trafficking—there always will be—but it's nowhere near as strong as it was. And speaking of Amira, I want to personally thank you, for marrying her and then doing whatever you did in New York to rescue her from Mayer. She's not kidding when she said you saved her life. There've been informants sent to us in cardboard boxes. The bombing that killed Adam probably had more to do with us than the general war effort."

"Then…should I do this?" Noah took the annulment papers from Luke's hand. "If her lawyer advised her that it's a bad idea…"

"Circumstances have changed since then. Because of her help, my organization—which is attached to the military—would go to bat for her if the ICE gives her trouble. And if her lack of ties to America is the problem, she can always marry me." For a fleeting moment he looked taken aback at his own words, but luckily a small, feminine voice broke into the conversation.

"Grandma says that if you don't come to eat now, everything will get cold," Natalie informed them dutifully.

"You're just doing all the talking tonight, aren't you, Natalie?" Luke said, smiling half-heartedly to let her know he was teasing. "Tell Grandma we'll be there in just a second."

"Okay." Natalie glanced up, awestruck and almost adoringly, at Riley. Face turning slightly pink, she tugged on his hand and whispered for him to sit with her. Sending an amused glance at Noah and Luke, Riley allowed himself to be dragged back into the kitchen.

"Guess she's over the "boys are yucky" phase."

"I am too, you know." Noah's free hand slipped around Luke's shoulders. "You know I only asked for her sake, right?"

"Yeah. I know."

Noah bent slightly to kiss Luke; he allowed it to linger slightly longer than usual.

"_Now_, you guys!" rang out from the dining room.

They laughed their way out of the kiss, though Noah still held tightly onto Luke. A stray pen was sitting on the coffee table, and Noah scooped it up with two fingers from the hand used to hold onto the annulment papers. He only let go when they reached the kitchen table; when he lay the papers and pen down he took up the pen with his other hand.

"So this is it."

Amira nodded, looking up at him, eyes unreadable with mixed emotions. "As soon as a judge confirms it."

Noah was slightly taken aback by the unfamiliar name gracing the line above where he was designated to sign, but quick memory told him it was probably Amira's real name.

"Fayza…I'll go put these upstairs, in Luke's room. If we leave them here, something will get spilled on them."

Amira smiled and ducked her head. Noah smiled back and turned to leave, but stopped short; the stairwell door was opening, with Ruth and Lily returning to the kitchen.

Noah expected for himself and his aunt to stand still for moments that would stretch out to feel like forever. Instead, the petite brunette went forward immediately and wrapped her arms around her nephew. Noah found himself not hesitating to embrace her as well. Ruth looked up, and Noah saw two streaks of water running down her face only to absorb into the fabric of his shirt.

"I wish your mother was here."

Noah swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.

"I do, too."

* * *

(Totally stealing this from CarolinaBlue…)

Next time on "Horiya"…

-Three foreigners appear at the docks on Lake Michigan.

-Margo's visit to the farm spells trouble for Damian.


	4. Part I Chapter IV

**Disclaimer:** I do not own As The World Turns. As so many have said, it'd be a lot different if I did. Nazli and Lujayn are my creations, however. As for Vittore…well, you'll see.

**Notes:** On the Terror Alert scale, Code Blue means there's only a general risk of attack.

Arabic is not spoken throughout the entire Muslim world, and where it is spoken there are regional dialects. Saudi Arabia and Iraq are right next to each other, so I'd imagine the dialectical difference isn't too strong, though DQMOT. Saudi Arabia opens education to girls, but schooling is not compulsory.

T-visas allow human trafficking victims who assist law enforcement in testifying against perpetrators to remain in the country for three years before they are granted permanent residency. Oh, and I refer to them as "girls", but Nazli and Lujayn are only a little younger than Luke and Noah. The L/N parallel is purely coincidental, by the way.

Also…LukeVanFan's video number 320? You're gonna have to consider everything from about 2 mins and 30 seconds onward to not have happened. Heroin, when injected, starts working in about 30 seconds and causes alternate periods of awareness and disorientation. I don't know what a drug cocktail like the one I describe would result in, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be good.

* * *

Part I – Chapter IV

* * *

"All right."

The two young women, chained and huddled together, looked up at the sound of a man's voice. The language he spoke was lost on them, despite having shared a hold and whatever scraps of food were tossed their way for the past few weeks.

"Let's do this."

In a handful of minutes he was overboard. Then he was standing on the docks, screaming for someone to come help them. Within ten more minutes, Detective Steve Brown was on the phone with the Oakdale Police Force.

* * *

"Margo! Fancy seeing you here." Dusty and Bonnie had migrated from the bar to a table, once the need for alcohol was replaced by the need for dinner.

"Good evening, Bonnie, Dusty," Margo said, not stopping but slowing her gait. "Unfortunately this is not a social call, so I can't stay to chat."

"Uh-oh." Dusty smiled; a buzz gave him a sense of humor slightly easier to trigger. "Who's in trouble?"

"Damian Grimaldi is wanted for questioning. That's as much as I'm going to tell you. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"He's not there."

Margo stopped, one foot on the first step upstairs.

"He left with Noah about…half-hour, forty-five minutes ago?" He glanced at Bonnie, who nodded.

"Where were they headed?" Margo turned and walked back towards Dusty and Bonnie's table.

"Snyder Farm, I think," Bonnie piped up. "Noah was one the phone when they left, but I think I heard him tell Casey that they were headed to the farm."

"…Of course." Casey had called her about an hour ago, telling her that Ruth and Amira had appeared to meet up with Riley before re-introducing themselves to Noah. "Thanks, you two."

"No problem," Dusty said, raising his glass as Margo went for the exit.

* * *

"Mind telling me why you hustled me out of my own home, Damian?" Meg said, Eliza on one hip, her hand on the other. "The front porch doesn't count as "inside", you know."

"I apologize," Damian said. "You walked into a tense situation that I didn't think you needed to be involved in."

"Tense situation…? Does it have to do with Noah's father? Mama called me at the pediatrician's to tell me about him being alive…" Meg transferred Eliza from her hip to her stomach, using both arms to shield her from the theoretical threat.

"It has something to do with him. Don't worry; he hasn't shown up in Oakdale." Damian reached out to gently rub Eliza's back. "Noah's aunt, cousin, and a girl that I've gathered from their stories used to be married to Noah, have showed up all at once."

"Amira…? And I didn't know that Noah had any family left."

"There was some sort of miscommunication between Noah and his aunt, and they never got in touch with each other. I'm not entirely sure how it panned out, since the only thing I know about Winston Mayer is that he tried to kill my son." Meg could, later, have sworn she saw Damian's eyes turn pure black for a moment. "In any case, both Amira and Ruth—Noah's aunt—had upsetting things for Noah to hear, and Ruth was not exactly pleased to learn something about Noah. You walked in just when it was becoming overwhelming for everyone. I didn't think you needed the extra stress."

"Oh, well…thanks for thinking of me." Meg smiled and ducked her head, hiding her slightly blushing face as she adjusted Eliza. "What all did this Ruth person say?"

"She was explaining why she hadn't been in contact with him for years, and about Noah's mother. I understand it's a sensitive subject." Damian gestured for them to sit; Meg accepted his invitation.

"Well, the Colonel _killed_ Noah's mother, I mean…"

"So I gathered. It was just difficult for Noah to hear. And then the Amira girl had her own story to tell; from what I understand it's a somewhat different version than what she told him while they were married. And there were several…disturbing anecdotes. Your mother told you how they found out Colonel Mayer was still alive, yes?"

"Yeah, through the slave trade. Al-something."

"Al-Majjaanan, I believe she called it. Apparently the girl was coerced by circumstances and her family into joining the organization, and after she escaped from it, Mayer attempted to sell her back in order to secure safe passage out of the country."

"Oh my God!" Eliza squirmed, feeling Meg's disgust. "That's _awful_. That man is a scumbag. Thank God Noah is nothing like him."

"I have been, all day," Damian said, silently asking permission to hold Eliza by putting his hands under the baby's arms. Meg allowed him to take her. "Though I doubt that if Noah were like his father, he would have involved himself with Luke."

"Oh…is that what Ruth wasn't happy to find out about?"

"Yes. She didn't storm out or fly into a rage, but then, neither did I."

"Ah. Yes, I've, ehm, been informed of what happened three years ago." Against her will, Meg found herself reaching out protectively for Eliza.

Damian exhaled sharply, letting Eliza rest in Meg's hands but not fully surrendering her. "I will admit that I acted like something not fit for the young lady's ears to hear." He released Eliza to gently cover her ears and give her a silly grin, earning a giggle. "The issue of the inheritance money was my own foolishness and greed, but as for Luke's sexuality…I was genuinely worried. About his health."

"His health?" Meg looked puzzled for a moment before realization slowly dawned. "You don't mean—you thought Luke would get AIDS?"

"We are not as progressive nor educated in Malta. Though it is still a possibility, even nowadays."

"Hence the deprogramming camp?" Meg raised her eyebrows.

"You have to understand, Meg, that I had been missing from my son's life for eight years. I come back and hear what is, in my mind, a death sentence for him…no matter what else I did, my love for my son has never wavered."

"I do understand." Meg lifted Eliza in the air and settled her in her lap. "I think I've had experience in misguided paternal love."

"Have you settled things with Paul?"

"I'm allowing supervised visits."

"Is that wise?"

"I think it is. If I cut off all contact between he and Eliza, there's no telling what he'd do to get her back. This way, he's satisfied enough to not try anything stupid, and he's aware that all eyes are on him."

"Ah. A good move." He sent Meg a surreptitious sideways glance. "How did Dusty take it?"

"I'm pretty sure he went back to Lakeview to get drunk."

"Well," Damian suppressed a scoff, "it really wasn't his decision to make."

"No it wasn't." Meg frowned for a moment and then determinedly set her shoulders. "It doesn't matter; I've washed my hands of both of them. You'd think I'd have learned before now that running back to my old boyfriends isn't a good idea."

"So are you giving up on men?" Damian asked, attempting nonchalance.

Meg cocked an eyebrow. "_Those_ men in any case."

"Sorry to interrupt."

Meg and Damian didn't realize how intently they'd been staring at each other until looking up to Margo felt like breaking a spell.

"Oh, Margo, hi," Meg said, smiling weakly and somewhat jumpily. "Casey's inside."

"Thank you, Meg, but it's actually Damian I'm looking for."

"What's the problem?" Damian rose.

Margo flashed her identification to get the formality out of the way. "I need you to come down to the station for questioning."

"What on Earth for?!"

"Earlier this evening a Maltese gentleman and two Middle Eastern girls were found on one of your boats. The girls were shackled together. The man claims that you ordered them shipped and that you, in fact, have been engaged in slave trading for several years."

"That's absolutely ludicrous!"

"That's for me to decide. The man's testimony is the only one we have right now, as the girls don't speak English. With no contradicting or supporting evidence, my only course of action is to bring you in for questioning."

"Margo, this is ridiculous," Meg said, standing with Eliza. "Damian was just speaking to me about the slave trade; why would—"

"No, Meg, this is fine," Damian said, his expression set in a glower. "I'd like to face this man and see just what he has against me, to accuse me of such a disgusting crime." He turned to face Meg. "If you could tell Luciano and Lily what has happened…?"

"Of course." Meg ran a hand nervously through her hair.

Damian hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say more. He settled for patting Meg's shoulder and tweaking Eliza's ear, before exiting through the door Margo held open.

Meg turned toward the door leading to the kitchen. She pushed it open to see Noah embracing who she assumed to be Ruth. They broke apart as the door hinges creased.

"Damian's in trouble."

"Why, what happened?" Lily asked, stepping down from the stairs.

"They found these two Middle Eastern girls and a Maltese guy on one of his boats, and the guy claims that Damian's been engaging in slave trading."

"You're kidding," Luke said, his jaw dropping open. Noah shifted his weight to take hold of Luke's arm.

"The girls can't speak English so they can't confirm or deny the claims, so Margo's taken him down to the station for questioning. She didn't say it, but I think he might be arrested." Meg, to her surprise, felt the corner of her lip trembling.

"This is insane," Luke said, turning helplessly to Noah. "Damian let Lucy use his ships to smuggle _medicine_, not people. And with the weapons scandal…someone would have seen something." Luke stepped away from the small group.

"Luke? Where do you think you're going?" Holden said, a slight warning in his voice.

"I'm going to the police station. I have to find out exactly what's going on."

"I'll go with you," Meg said, moving to the door.

"I don't think that's a good idea, for either of you," Holden said, his eyes narrowing.

"Dad, I know you hate the guy—"

"That's not why I don't want you to go. It's not exactly _safe_ right now, remember?"

"I'll go with them," Jack said. "I should probably know what's going on, anyway. Holden, we're really something like Code Blue at the moment, but if you need it, Emma gave Janet the shotgun. It's still in the barn."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Noah asked, catching Luke by the hand.

"Absolutely, but I don't want you to abandon your aunt."

"Especially since I should go with Luke, too," Riley said, cutting in. "I'm obligated to investigate all reports of human trafficking."

"And I should go as well," Amira piped up, rising from the table.

"What for?" Luke asked.

"Even if they don't speak my dialect, we might still be able to converse. I might be able to translate."

"Riley can't do that?" Luke cocked his head.

"They don't speak Arabic colloquially in Afghanistan," Riley explained. "I know Dari, and that's it. Unless the two girls are Afghani, I won't be able to speak with them."

"Then that's five people and all I can fit in the squad car," Jack said. "Looks like I'm back on duty…"

"Jack, you be careful," Janet said, putting her arms around her husband and kissing him. "That goes for all of you," she continued, pulling back and casting a stern eye on those preparing to leave. "Here, Meg, give me Eliza…"

"It might be best if you let your aunt in on the exact situation with Damian _now_ instead of her probably finding out the hard way later," Luke said, glancing over at Ruth's bewildered face.

"You sure?" Luke nodded. "Okay then…" Noah's face had settled into an uneasy look. "Be careful."

"I will. I love you."

"Same here," Noah said, automatically, and kissed Luke.

"Take care of Aunt Ruth," Riley said, clapping Noah on the shoulder as he and Amira passed. Luke gave Noah's hands a squeeze and moved to join the small group congregating at the door.

* * *

"I should really start charging an entry fee," Margo muttered, looking up when Jack, Luke, Riley, Amira, and Meg walked into the police station.

"Mind briefing me on the case, Margo?" Jack asked.

"Well, since you're here I'm sure Meg's already done that." She rose from her desk and crossed to the small group. "Earlier this evening a Maltese man named Vittore Mari appeared on the docks. He had swum from one of the Grimaldi ships and got hold of Detective Steve Brown. He claimed that he along with two girls had been trafficked from the Mediterranean on Damian's orders. The girls were found held captive, but there was not one other soul on the ship. We've been trying to question the girls but their English is severely limited…they know maybe forty words between them, and it's all very basic." Margo cast a puzzled eye on Jack's companions. "Mind briefing me on _them_? Riley, I understand; I assume he has to investigate this."

"Exactly," Riley said, nodding.

"Meg and Luke are just here to see what happens with Damian. And Amira…" She stepped forward at Jack's vocal cue, "…says she can help with translating whatever the girls have to say."

"Good, since the nearest Arabic speaker is in another county. Meg, Luke, take a seat. Everyone else, this way…"

Meg and Luke uneasily sat and watched as Margo led Jack, Riley, and Amira down a small hallway. Margo pushed open a door to reveal two girls clad in ripped and soiled black robes and huddled under police-issue blankets, staring up at them from where they sat together at the stainless steel table.

"Steve's got Vittore in the other room; Damian's with Heather," Margo explained, leaning back against the wall. Jack nodded and stood opposite her on the other side of the door. "Amira? You understand that any purposeful misinterpretations will land you in jail for obstruction of justice?"

At the sight of the two girls Amira had stopped in her tracks, memories of the explosion that had spared only her plastered on her mind's eye; Margo's voice dragged her back to the present. "Yes. Yes, I understand."

"They're all yours."

The two smiled nervously at Amira as she sat down, and at Riley who stood behind her, their gaze still shifting like frightened birds. One offered a "Hello" in a heavily accented voice.

Amira began to speak, slowly and calmly. The one who had spoken before lit up at the sound of Arabic and began to babble, as if words couldn't come out fast enough. Amira stopped her after a moment and looked up at Margo.

"These two are from Saudi Arabia…they lived in a less developed area and their parents did not send them to school. That's why they don't know English. The one who has been talking is named Nazli; her friend is Lujayn."

"Ask them when they were kidnapped, and where they were taken."

Amira did as bade; the same girl answered. "A few months ago. They're not exactly sure _where_ they were taken, though they have been traveling a long time. Most of the time they were inside a boat; whenever they weren't, they were blindfolded."

"I'm assuming they don't speak Italian but did they hear _anything_ that could identify their abductors?"

Amira relayed the question; Nazli answered in such a tone that Margo knew that such had not been the case. Lujayn opened her mouth, allowing a noise to escape, but quickly clammed up and pulled back, hunching as if wanting to curl up into a ball.

"Amira, she wants to say something," Margo said, gesturing to Lujayn.

Amira gently asked what Lujayn had to say; Nazli put her hand on Lujayn's back and spoke softly to her, encouraging her. Lujayn glanced at Nazli, gathering courage from her weak reassuring smile, and stammered her answer to Amira.

"Lujayn says that at one point, she heard two men talking, and she heard the word "Salvatore" repeated several times. She memorized it, thinking that it might be important."

"Either a name or a codeword," Jack said; Margo nodded. "What do they know about Vittore?"

"Nothing," Amira reported after Nazli spoke. "He was brought down in chains sometime after Lujayn heard the "Salvatore" conversation, and he was treated just as they were, until tonight when one of the crew unchained him."

"That matches up with what Vittore told Steve," Margo informed Jack.

"Do they know anything else?" Riley asked. "_Why_ they were kidnapped, perhaps?"

Nazli and Lujayn fell equally silent when Amira asked. Amira pressed on gently, inquiring as to whether their families were exceptionally poor; had they been taken from their parents to pay debts? Amira stopped suddenly and flushed; Lujayn had begun to cry at the mention of "parents". Nazli turned her focus to Lujayn, speaking rapidly, almost angrily.

"Nazli is telling her to forget about their families back home."

"Their families sold them?" Jack said, incredulous. Amira nodded, looking sick to her stomach. "Christ…why on earth…?"

"It's not unheard of," Riley said through gritted teeth.

Margo had picked up a box of tissues from a filing cabinet in the corner of the room; she set them before Lujayn with a soft, kind smile. "Amira, I need you to stay in this room and try to get her to calm down. We might need to question them again."

"Of course." Amira removed a tissue and offered it to Lujayn; Nazli took it and pressed it to Lujayn's face for her.

"Jack? Riley? Out in the hall."

The two men took her invitation to exit the room; she shut the door behind herself and leaned against it.

"I think Damian is being set up."

"As much as I don't like the guy, I'm thinking the same thing," Jack said, frowning. "Even if he's an _evil_ mastermind, he's not a _stupid_ one. No way in Hell would he have slaves transported on his own ships to a town he's _living in_. Especially not after that whole weapons smuggling ordeal back in May. And with that in mind, wouldn't Lucy or Fredo have noticed if Damian was smuggling people?"

"There's always the chance that they wouldn't, but I doubt it, considering how much free rein Damian gave Lucy. I'm more interested in the fact that Lake Michigan is _landlocked_. It's not like they took a boat from England to New York. He'd have to take them through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Malta, probably Spain or Morocco, and _Canada_, just to get them to Oakdale. And there's the fact that the only word Lujayn knows is "Salvatore". Makes me think they repeated it on purpose, so she would remember it."

"The whole thing with Vittore stinks, too. Why the _hell_ would they leave him unshackled at a _port_?"

"Let's not forget how convenient it is that the _entire crew_ walked off the boat and hasn't been seen since. So, yes, I don't believe for a second that Damian is involved in human trafficking. This was either a truly sloppy frame job, or…" Margo frowned.

"Bait?" Riley interjected. "Someone—maybe this Salvatore person—could be trying to lure Damian back to Malta."

"Sounds about right," Jack said. "Margo, what about Vittore? You think he's a stooge?"

"No. Steve contacted our guy at Interpol; Vittore Mari was reported missing a few weeks ago. He's just another pawn. They probably slipped him the name "Damian" the same way Lujayn was fed "Salvatore"."

"So the next step is to figure out who this Salvatore is."

"Yeah, and I've got a pretty good hunch. A hunch that involves you going to Statesville."

"Pinarosa?" Margo nodded. "All right." Jack looked at Riley. "What do you need to do now?"

"Report to HQ that we've found three victims. I need to stay involved in this investigation until we find out who exactly sent these people to Oakdale."

"We're going to need to see papers authorizing you to do this," Margo said.

"Not a problem; I'll have them faxed."

"And what about the girls and Vittore?" Jack asked, jerking his head towards the door. "What's happening to them?"

"Since someone filed a missing person's report, Vittore's obviously got someone waiting for him; we should get him on the earliest plane back to Malta. As for Nazli and Lujayn…" Riley grimaced. "I sincerely doubt they'll receive any sort of welcome back in Saudi Arabia. The best thing for them to do is to just get their T-visas and find someone to stay with and teach them English."

"And what about tonight?"

"They shouldn't stay here. They need to stay in the care of a police officer, but keeping them shut up here is only going to remind them of where they've been. Expatriates are like infants—they need the right environment effective immediately. Otherwise some therapist is going to become very wealthy."

Margo sent a pointed look at Jack, who sighed. "I'll ask Meg and Luke to call Aunt Emma. I'm assuming you three," he looked at Riley, "are going to be staying for longer than a day now."

"I apologize for the inconvenience."

Jack shook his head. "Don't. Really. We've had worse."

"All right," Margo said. "Jack, go talk to your family. Riley, come back inside with me; we need to explain the situation to Amira."

Jack had barely reappeared in the lobby when two voices identical in tone if not in gender demanded, "Can we see Damian?"

"In a minute. I'll tell you right now that at the moment it looks like he's got nothing to worry about."

"Thank goodness," Meg said, and Luke sank slightly back in his chair, relaxing.

"Remember that could change," Jack said, eyeing them sternly. "But there's something else."

"What?" Luke asked.

"The two girls that were found aren't going to be repatriated. Their families were…responsible for their predicament."

"Oh my God," Meg murmured.

"So…what's happening to them?" Luke asked.

"They need to stay in police custody, but preferably not in the station. And they only speak Arabic, so they have to stick with Amira. Which means…"

"Grandma's getting a few more houseguests," Luke filled in. "There a phone here I can use?"

Jack pointed in said telephone's general direction, and smiled sardonically. "Asking is kind of a formality at this point, isn't it?"

"Grandma would kill us if we showed up with more people than she had food for," Luke said, standing up.

"Actually, Luke?" Jack caught him by the arm. "Hold on a second. Meg, do you mind making the call? I gotta talk to Luke about something to do with the investigation."

"Um…sure…" Meg said, standing and sending Jack a confused look as she crossed the room to the telephone designated for civilian use.

"What's the matter?" Luke asked, frowning.

"I wanted to warn you ahead of time," Jack said, biting his lip. "Evidence has come up saying that the investigation might involve Pinarosa."

All the moisture in Luke's mouth disappeared, and resurfaced in the bead of sweat now running down the side of his face.

"Margo is sending me up to question her tomorrow. If she says…anything…whether it has to do with this investigation or not…do you want to know?"

Luke swallowed; words seemed trapped underneath a ball of sawdust in his throat. "Yes."

"You're absolutely sure?"

Luke nodded, slowly, painfully. His breathing suddenly deepened, yet felt shallow and difficult. "The last month and a half has been hell, not knowing."

"There's no statute of limitations, you know," Jack said, dropping his voice and his gaze. "You can still press charges for—"

"They're both serving the maximum sentence already. Bringing this up when I don't absolutely need to is just going to cause everyone more pain. Sometimes I regret telling _you_," he added, without a trace of sarcasm.

"How about Noah?"

"Him, too."

"No, I mean, will he be okay with knowing?"

Luke hesitated. "I don't know."

"How about you talk with him tonight and let me know what you want to do in the morning, before I head out?" Luke shrugged tightly to the affirmative. "This could all come to nothing, you know," Jack said, allowing a little hope to in his voice.

"What could all come to nothing?" Meg asked, approaching them.

"The investigation," Jack said quickly, casually.

"Please God," Meg said, and Luke breathed an inward sigh of relief that she hadn't pressed for details. "Mama's a little taken aback but she says the girls are welcome at the farm."

"There's a shock," Jack said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Riley and Amira are going to have to work out a place to stay, too. I guess Noah's family will be sticking around."

"I get the feeling Grandma won't object to that either," Luke said. "Noah, too."

"So the question now is how I get you all home…two trips, I guess. You two first."

"What about Damian?" Meg demanded immediately. "Is he coming home with us?"

"You said that he's got nothing to worry about," Luke added.

"That looks like the case but we can't be sure. What happened is that the evidence and the testimonies of the three people who were found don't add up, which casts Damian in a more innocent light. He's still our only suspect, though, so—"

"Heather's got his statement and he's not under formal arrest so we can't keep him here," Margo said, appearing in the lobby, flanked by Riley, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn. "I want to question him again, though, so he'll be here for a bit longer. Their testimony hasn't changed," she waved her hands towards Nazli and Lujayn, "so they can leave."

Amira translated and gestured towards Jack. Nazli and Lujayn took timid steps forward, still clustered together as if attached surgically; Amira followed.

"Riley's staying to get in touch with his superiors and fax over his authorization papers." Margo glanced at Meg and Luke. "Are you two staying to see Damian?"

"Yes," Meg said.

"Then Luke should come back with me," Jack said swiftly. "Since I'm coming right back, Luke should be there to explain to them what's happened." He sent a glance at Luke, eyes advising him to talk to Noah as soon as possible.

Luke caught the silent message. "I think that's a good idea."

"Do you want me to let him know you came?" Meg asked, casting a suspicious gaze on both Jack and Luke.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

"All right then," Margo said. "Meg, you can sit back down. Riley, come with me. And Jack…take care of them." Margo sent a sad, sympathetic smile to the two newly freed girls.

* * *

Jack let Luke, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn out of the car a few feet away from the front porch. Amira had kept up a quiet, steady stream of Arabic throughout the ride, stopping only occasionally to breathe and to try to explain through dialectical differences, preparing the girls for where they would be staying. Luke, however, thought that was an exercise in futility. His evaluation was somewhat justified when Lujayn nearly hid behind Nazli when they opened the door to a flurry of noise courtesy of Emma, Holden, Lily, Ruth, and Noah. Nazli herself merely stopped and surveyed the room, fear expertly hidden after months of practice.

The din settled quickly enough, with Emma going forward to usher the foursome fully into the kitchen. "Casey says good-bye; he had to leave for the late shift at the hospital," she explained, as Nazli and Lujayn were shooed into empty seats, warm food awaiting them. Despite the weights on his mind, Luke had to smile at his grandmother's predictability.

"We've been discussing our situation," Emma said, also hustling Luke and Amira into chairs. "I think it's best if Noah's family stays with us for awhile."

"The thing is that my husband is away on business," Ruth said quickly, excitedly; she was sitting next to Noah. "And he'll be gone for at least a few weeks. So there's no one at home waiting for us. Of course I'll have to go back to get some of our things, but I can be here again by the end of the weekend."

"Ruth is planning to stay at least until her husband returns," Lily continued from her seat on the other side of Noah; Holden sat beside her. "At that point we'll have to decide if these two young ladies go to Omaha as well, or if they and Amira stay here, but we figure we can cross that bridge when we come to it. The course of the investigation will probably factor into that, since I'm assuming Riley has to see that out."

"And what exactly is going on with the investigation?" Holden demanded.

"Whoa." Luke put up his hands. "Okay. First of all, that sounds like a good plan. Second of all, you're right to assume Riley's going to be involved; he's still at the station getting papers faxed to him from his superior. As for the investigation…Jack said that what they saw at the docks and what they're being told doesn't add up, so there's a good chance Damian's innocent. They're releasing him tonight, and Jack's going to…follow a lead they got." He sent a quick glance at Noah, who caught it and frowned.

"I assume Meg is still there?" Holden continued.

"Yeah; Jack's going to bring her, Damian, and Riley back when they're done questioning Damian again; I'll guess he'll head back to Lakeview from here."

Holden looked put out but said nothing further.

"This is all if it's okay with you, Amira," Ruth said. "I assume you wouldn't want to go back to an empty house?"

"Of course, I'll stay," Amira said. She glanced over at Nazli and Lujayn and muttered that they were free to eat. Lujayn gingerly picked up the small piece of garlic bread on her plate and took a bite.

"Since you're living at the house, we figured we'd be able to move our guests into your rooms here," Emma continued, watching with an approving maternal eye as the girls began to shovel food in their mouths. 'Poor things are practically emaciated,' Emma thought.

"That's fine," Luke said. "But can you hold off on converting mine for a little bit tonight? I need to talk to Noah," who had been eyeing him worriedly, "privately."

"You aren't eating?" Emma said as Luke stood.

"Not hungry, Grandma." He looked back at the girls who were cleaning their plates as if they hadn't seen food in a week. There was a hard pulling sensation in his chest as he considered that just might be the truth, and he pushed his plate towards Nazli and Lujayn. "Let them have it. They need it."

"Excuse me," Noah said to his aunt, and rose; Luke saw that Ruth's hand had been resting atop Noah's. As if searching for a new companion, Noah's hand took Luke's when they met the door to the stairs.

Luke suddenly felt Nazli talking towards him, her words rapid and excited. Lujayn joined in, more uncertain; Nazli seemed to correct her, and then turned to Amira. Luke and Noah both turned to face the girls and Amira, who looked astonished.

"Nazli is asking if you two are like them," she said slowly, looking back at forth at the two girls and Luke and Noah.

Lujayn hid her face in her shaking hands and began intoning what Amira knew was a prayer. A supplication for protection. Nazli slipped her arm around Lujayn's back and pressed her lips to Lujayn's covered head. Amira looked back at Luke and Noah, her eyes sad.

"I think we know why their families sold them off now."

A sickened silence instantly permeated the room.

"Well then," Emma said sharply, anger at the people she prayed to God she would never meet tightly contained, "Amira, please tell them that they'll be in two separate bedrooms until they get married. And also that," she gestured to their emptied plates with her hand, "there's more where that came from."

* * *

"Can anyone tell me why? Just…why?"

"I don't know," Luke said, closing the door to his bedroom as Noah passed him.

"First my trigger-addicted father, then those poor girls' parents selling them off…" Noah slammed himself onto the bed. "God, Luke, they could've been forced into sex slavery. That's _preferable_ to them being in a lesbian relationship?"

"I'm imagining that conversation. "What's wrong with you? Wouldn't you rather be in a nice, normal, heterosexual concubinage?"." Luke sat down next to Noah and ran a hand angrily, nervously through his hair. "Somehow I'm not quite as mad about that deprogramming camp now."

"God, and that too…there are so many worse things a child could do to make their parents hate them. Why it has to be something out of their control…" Noah trailed off, noticing the far-away look in Luke's eyes. "Are you okay? Usually _you'd_ be the one ranting at this."

"True," Luke said listlessly.

Noah ran his hand widthwise across Luke's back and wrapped it around Luke's waist. "Did something happen at the station?"

"Jack…told me that they have a lead, and he has to go to Statesville to question Zoe."

Luke felt Noah stiffen. He tightened his grip, pulling Luke closer to him; his other hand searched out Luke's.

"Jack thinks she might say something about…back in April. And he suggested I talk with you, to decide if we wanted to know if she said anything."

"You want to know, don't you."

Luke nodded and looked down. "If she _is_, there's the chance that—"

"Please don't say it."

"I'm sorry, baby."

Noah's hand moved up Luke's side to his head, which he pressed to rest on his shoulder. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry for."

Noah had once thought the three worst words Luke could ever say to him would be "I'm leaving you". But when Luke choked out "You were hallucinating" in the hospital, Noah knew he would have preferred Luke leaving him forever to knowing that dehydration and growing infection had fooled him into believing he'd been able to protect Luke.

Zach held Damian at gunpoint until Margo arrived with back-up and stormed the storage locker after it was too late. Zoe had broken free from Noah's weak hold on her. Luke couldn't remember anything beyond that point with any clarity, and they soon found out why: a needle full of impure heroin stabbed into his arm, combined with a Viagra tablet shoved down his throat. Bob told Luke he was lucky not to need his stomach pumped.

Luke begged Bob and later Noah not to tell his family about the pill, though the forced injection couldn't be hidden. The only reason Jack knew was because when the mild withdrawal effects wore off and Noah found Luke huddled in a corner of his bedroom shivering, wide-eyed, with liquid vomit running down his chin, Noah cried for the first time since he was given his father's dog tags and pleaded with Luke to talk to someone. Jack's past with Julia Lindsey made him the only one Luke thought he could tell.

"You don't want to know," Luke said flatly.

"What I don't want," Noah said, trying to breathe steadily, "is for you to be…if not knowing is going to torture you, then I want you to know."

"Thank you."

Noah turned his head and pressed his lips to Luke's temple, trying to force any fuzzy or clear memories of Zoe out of Luke's brain. For a moment it worked, but then Luke slumped, and a bullet carrying the knowledge that there was no complete escape from this lodged itself in Noah's heart.


	5. Part I Chapter V

**Disclaimer:** I do not own As The World Turns

**Notes:** I know not everyone watches the show proper or know what's happened in the past, so here's a recap: Lucinda used to be married to Jacobo Estaban, the ruler of a fictional South American country, Montega. They had a daughter named Sierra. Jacobo divorced Lucinda and kicked her out of Sierra's life; Lucinda went back to America, married a man named Martin Guest, and adopted Lily (Martin killed himself not long after, when they found out Lily's adoption was illegal; I assumed that was eventually straightened out). Years later, civil war broke out in Montega and Lucinda hired Craig to find Sierra. Loyalist forces won the war and Sierra returned to Montega to rebuild the country. A second war occurred and Lucinda adopted a Montegan orphan named Bianca Marquez. Then later, when Rose was found, Lucinda informally adopted her into the family. So Lucinda has a grand total of four daughters: Sierra, Lily, Rose, and Bianca. This makes me really want to do an AU series. "Growing Up Walsh" or something like that. Sierra currently serves as queen in Montega; Bianca works at the United Nations in New York.

Nikki Munson is the late Hal Munson's daughter (his only daughter, and the older half-sister to Adam, Will, and Parker). She's apparently involved in international diplomacy, as at the time of Hal's death, she was away on a Foreign Service mission. I make her a liaison to Malta here because I enjoy name-dropping; if I get the right inspiration she'll be included more fully in the story later.

Joe is Joe D'Angelo, who adopted Rose along with his wife Anna Maria (now deceased) when she was a baby, making him Jade's adoptive grandfather.

* * *

Part I – Chapter V

* * *

"It's nice to know I'm at least an afterthought, darling, but even a three-page e-mail is not enough, I'm afraid."

"Mother! For God's sake, don't scare me like that." Lily had been taking advantage of a personal day, a sleepy Friday morning, by curling up on the couch to watch television, and the sound of the front door banging open against the wall had sent her heart up into her throat. "You probably woke the boys, too."

"Good. You can never be too vigilant, Pussycat." Lucinda sat, unbidden, on the couch. "Just the boys? Why isn't everyone here?"

"It's Friday, Mother," Lily said, rubbing her temple. "The girls are at school. Holden's at the farm. And Jade left to visit Joe last weekend."

"They're with other people, at least. Good. Now. I did some checking on that Riley person."

"Mother…"

"_Never_. _Too_. _Vigilant_. I thought with all you've gone through you would have taken those words to heart by now. Then again, if you did, I'd be out of a job. In any case, it doesn't matter. His story checks out. I also found out that his organization is something of a love child between the United Nations and several countries' militaries, so I ended up calling Bianca and having a nice little chat with her."

"How is she?"

"Well, and _very_ busy. As it turns out, she's one of the founders of the project. The war effort is turning up a lot of victims, so she's had her hands full." Lucinda sighed, looking annoyed. "I let her know about our current situation, since you and Luke insist on caring about that man."

"You mean…Damian?"

"Who else? Anyway, Bianca has a friend at the American embassy in Malta. A certain Miss Nikki Munson, if you can believe it. Malta's is not one of the militaries involved in rescuing trafficking victims, unfortunately, but Bianca thinks Nikki might be able to get Riley in should he need to go."

"That's—"

"Fabulous, yes, I know," Lucinda said, uninterestedly. "Though if it were me I'd swear on whatever they put in front of me that Damian's guilty as Cain."

"Mother!"

"Darling, after what he's put this family through…" She sighed, aggravated, at Lily's stubborn face. "I don't appreciate people who force me to handle a gun."

"As if anyone could force you to do anything, Mother," Lily laughed, despite the memory of Dante. "And thank you for doing this for me and Luke."

"How is he, by the way? His personal Public Enemy Number One pops up and then his," she bent her fingers in air quotations, ""father" is taken away for questioning for something as awful as slave trading."

"He was fine, actually, about Colonel Mayer," Lily said.

"Impossible."

"No, no; he was very casual about it." Lily frowned. "He doesn't want us whipped up into panic mode again, not after those awful twins or whatever they were, and Lucy's ordeal…I'm sure he's trying to be strong for Noah, too. Noah's holding up," Lily said before Lucinda could inquire. "Though last night, when we came back home…neither of them looked good."

"How so?"

"I don't know. They went to Luke's room at the farm to talk, and they both came down very pale and upset-looking. I snuck in to see them this morning; I did my "mommy thing"." She pressed her hand to her forehead to demonstrate. "They're not sick. And it's not about Damian being guilty; Meg called and said Damian went home last night, and in any case Luke seems sold on his innocence."

"Something to do with those two girls, perhaps? That must be doubly upsetting to them, as a gay couple as well."

"I'm sure that didn't help matters, but Luke _came home_ looking a little unsettled. I asked Meg; she said she doesn't know, but that Jack was acting strangely, too."

"Then why not call him up?"

"He's on assignment. Margo sent him to Statesville to question someone related to the case."

"Not that awful Zoe character?"

"He didn't say, but she's the only person I can think of who'd be connected to the case."

"So you think Jack told Luke he was going to question her?" Lily nodded. "Well then of course they were upset! Why on Earth would Jack even mention that girl?"

"I don't know, Mother. I don't even know if he _did_, but she's all I can come up with." Lily chewed worriedly on her bottom lip. "I wouldn't be surprised if she _did_ know something."

"She could be masterminding the whole thing, I don't care; I just want her out of my grandson's life!"

"You'll get no disagreement here," Lily said, unconsciously reaching for a pillow to hug to her chest. Lucinda stopped her halfway and instead opened her arms. Lily curled up against her mother, briefly marveling at how maternal protectiveness lasted.

* * *

"Detective Jack Snyder of the Oakdale Police Force. I'm here to question Gia Pinarosa."

Jack waited for what felt like hours for Zoe to be led to him. The orange of her prison uniform seemed to make her glow neon against her now longer black hair and the dark blue of her escorting officer's uniform.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," Zoe said as she was handcuffed to the table and sat opposite Jack. "Trial's over, you know. Questioning's moot."

"You were born as Gia Pinarosa in Malta, is that correct?" Jack said, ignoring her parody of small talk.

"Yes." Zoe slumped back sullenly in her chair, staring at Jack with eyes that made him nervous.

"And what were the circumstances that led you to live in America?"

Zoe visibly tightened up; her stared turned into a poisonous glower. "The Grimaldi had my mother murdered after she threatened to sue for her rightful inheritance. The cops looked the other way. You guys aren't too concerned with justice when there's a modern empire involved, are you?"

"Just answer the question."

"My grandfather didn't want me or Grandma staying in Malta."

"These are your maternal grandparents?"

"Duh."

"And your paternal—"

"My father ran out on my mother when I was a zygote," Zoe snapped, and Jack could almost see the nerve he had touched protruding against her forehead. "I don't know anyone from his side of the family."

"So Pinarosa is your mother's maiden name?"

"Yeah. You still interested in the "How I Got to America" story, or…?"

"Continue."

"My grandma's from America. She's got extended family here. We lived with them. I turned to a life of crime when I found out Damian Grimaldi was in America." She was smiling sarcastically. "Ran off with my boyfriend, pretended to be Zoe Finn, Do-Gooder Extraordinaire, and now you now the rest of the story. Paul Harvey. Good day."

"Cute." Jack resisted making a face at her. "Mind attaching names to any of these people?"

"You want my grandfather."

"Are you aware of any plans he might have in regards to taking revenge on the Grimaldi family?"

Zoe shrugged. "He wasn't planning anything when I left. As far as I know, in any case. He hates all things Grimaldi. Has since Giuliano denied him as his son."

"And you're willing to give us his name?"

"I know the man. He hates people. A real recluse. If you know he exists it's because he wants you to. You're looking for Salvatore Grimaldi. Oh, excuse me. Salvatore Pinarosa."

Despite who was in his presence Jack felt a thrill of excitement at hearing the name. "And your grandmother?"

"Flora Pinarosa. I doubt he's told her anything, though. Would defeat the purpose of sending her away to keep her safe. And before you ask, I don't know where either of them lives now. Grandma moved out of her in-laws' and won't tell me where she went. Grandpa hasn't been in contact since May, and he avoids keeping an address for too long."

"Have you ever heard of an organization called al-Majjaanan?"

"Nope. I've kinda been focused on avenging my mother for the past couple years, in case you haven't noticed. And I've been too distracted nowadays to do much outside research."

Her mouth stretched into a grin and Jack felt a slight chill crawling up his back. He stood, more quickly than he meant to. "That's it for now," Jack informed the attending officer. "We'll be in contact if there's anything else we need to—"

"How's Luciano doing?" Zoe asked brightly. "I think about him all the time, you know."

"Take her out of here," Jack said, looking directly at the officer.

"I have something for him," Zoe continued, almost in gleeful singsong. "And I know he's curious. Good old cousin Jack, coming to play messenger boy. Cop's got it." She jerked her head towards her escort. "Left pocket. Plastic baggie. It's magically not a bomb when _he_ has it."

"It's removed from the investigation," the officer said evenly, looking sympathetically into Jack's torn face. "There is no necessity for you to take it, or even see it."

"No, there is a necessity," Jack said, his stare resisting the magnetic pull of the sadism emanating off Zoe's features. "I have an obligation to my family."

The officer reached into his pocket and withdrew the plastic bag. Jack went forward mechanically to take it. He gave into impulse and looked down, his eyes searching out the answer. When he found it, he looked up and determinedly kept his head straight and his gaze forward, refusing to watch as Zoe was released from the table and escorted back to what he suddenly, vindictively hoped was a cold, cockroach-infested prison cell. Wishing that someone would burn in Hell was usually reserved for the likes of James Stenbeck, but Jack knew he wouldn't mind seeing Gia Pinarosa there right alongside him.

_There_ was an image. James and Zoe, en flambé. He allowed himself to chuckle his way out of Statesville and back into his squad car. He figured it would be the last time in a while that anybody in the family laughed.

* * *

"How did it get so late?"

"I decided to let you sleep," Noah said, stretching.

"I decided to let _you_ sleep," Luke said, turning around; he had been at his dresser. Rather, his and Noah's. The spring semester was over but they weren't due to move into the sublet for another few weeks (Mr. Reese said the current residents decided to extend their lease; Luke blamed the machinations of Mr. Reese), so Lily and Holden had given their consent for Noah to move in with them for the interim.

"Who do you think's home?" Noah asked. He had attempted to get up, managing to put his feet on the floor before giving up and flopping backwards, feet still in their last position.

"Uh…Mom and Ethan. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Just wondering because you want to know who'll be here when Jack gets back, or…" Luke crossed the room and stood over Noah, placing his hands on Noah's knees and leaning over, "just wondering for something else?"

"Yes." Noah mustered up enough energy to sit up, fit his hand around the back of Luke's head, and pull Luke back down with him, into a long, deep kiss. When Luke pulled away he tucked his head under Noah's chin; Noah's hand automatically went to run through Luke's hair and down the side of his face.

"There's no way you're comfortable like that," Noah murmured.

"Of course I am. I have the best pillow ever created. It's you who got a sack of bricks thrown on you."

"A sack of bricks that's pinning me to a big, comfy mattress. Huh. Not that bad. I'll take the crushing weight on my sternum if it means I get to stay in bed."

There was a long silence. "We have to face today, though."

Noah said nothing, but slowly sat up, allowing Luke to slide down him until he was kneeling by Noah's feet. Luke balanced his chin on Noah's knee and looked up. "It's probably going to be a bit. I'm sure Jack has to go to the station and report to Margo first."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well…" Luke blew a long strand of hair out of his eyes. "We could, and really should, head over to the farm. You just got your family back; don't want them to think you're avoiding them. And I want to talk to Riley." He frowned, remembering Lujayn's teary eyes hiding behind her hands. "I'm thinking maybe we should get the Foundation involved with ex-pats like Nazli and Lujayn. There's so much they need. Host families, ESL teachers, _therapy_…at the very least the Foundation can raise awareness. Kim would probably love to do a special on it. And considering their story, we can tie it into our anti-homophobia campaign, as well."

Noah smiled, as much at the plan as the fact that talking about it put the life that had disappeared last night back in Luke's face. "I hear the wheels turning in there," he said, tussling Luke's hair.

"That creaking you hear is the rust. It feels like it's been forever since the Foundation was active."

"Yeah, not since—"

"Boys?" Luke was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, Mom," Luke called back, pulling himself up off the floor by grabbing his boyfriend's hand as Noah stood. "We're decent; you can come in."

"Ok." Lily opened the door. "Are you headed to the farm today?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because my mother is here, and she has to talk with Riley about the investigation. She found a way he might be able to get to Malta if he needs to. So I figured that if you three were headed over anyway, I'll bring the kids and we'll make another family day of it. I'm sure your father would love the company."

"Sounds like a plan." Luke glanced over to see Noah disappear into the bathroom, and then looked back at his mother to see her frowning at him. "What?"

"Are you okay, sweetheart? You were awfully quiet last night."

"I'm fine," Luke said, shrugging tightly. "Just…anxious, I guess."

"About Damian?"

"Yeah." Luke consoled himself with the fact that he had not lied yet. "You know how much they dislike him down at the station."

"Both Margo and Jack think he's innocent, though. And right off the bat. That's a good sign."

"Hmm…yeah." Luke's gaze darted to the bathroom, his escape. "I should get ready…"

"And I should go make sure Ethan hasn't destroyed his outfit." Lily swayed back, stopped short, and then stepped forward, catching Luke up in a hug.

"Mom?" Luke awkwardly raised his arms to complete the embrace. "What brought this on?"

"Now I need an excuse to hug my son?" Her hold tightened into a squeeze. "I love you, sweetie. That's reason enough." She went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, before landing back fully on her feet and stepping away. "Hurry up, the both of you. Your grandmother does not like to be kept waiting." She was smiling as she disappeared behind the shutting door.

The bathroom door opened quietly, and Luke wasn't surprised to feel Noah replace Lily, for the exact same reason.

* * *

"L-lunch. Lunch. Please."

Lucinda, Lily, Luke, Noah, and Ethan entered the kitchen to find most of the farm's inhabitants and guests clustered in the kitchen, almost posed perfectly like a Leonardo da Vinci painting. Amira sat in the center, a few sheets of paper sporting mixed Arabic and English characters spread out in front of her. Lujayn and Nazli sat on either side of her, leaning over and squinting at the unfamiliar Latin alphabet. Ruth occupied the seat next to Lujayn, and Riley the one next to Nazli. Emma and Janet were busy fulfilling the request for a midday meal, and Meg sat apart, feeding Eliza in her high chair.

Ruth popped out of her seat upon seeing Noah but refrained from rushing to him when she saw his hand clasped tightly around Luke's. Luke instead was the one to extricate himself from Noah's grasp and give him a slight push towards his aunt. Luke thought he saw Ruth send him a brief, grateful look before she turned her head to kiss Noah on the cheek.

"I'm to assume that these two lovely ladies are Nazli and Lujayn?" Lucinda said, stopping at the counter to survey the scene.

"Yes," Emma said, turning around and wiping her hands on her pants. "And hello to all of you, too."

There was a smattering of mixed greetings before Lucinda continued. "So I'm safe in thinking that young man is Riley Morgan?"

"Yes," Riley said, rising. "May I help you?"

"Well, actually, I can help _you_. I assume you're acquainted with the name of Bianca Marquez Walsh?"

"Of course. She's the boss of my entire organization. How are _you_ aware of her?"

"She's my youngest daughter, that's how."

"This is my mother, Lucinda Walsh," Lily interjected. "I told your aunt about my sister Bianca last night; I had no idea she was involved in this particular project at the UN."

"I called Bianca after I heard about yesterday's events," Lucinda continued. "She's in touch with the liaison to Malta. She says that if it becomes necessary she can probably use that connection to get you into Malta, in your official capacity."

"That's fantastic!" Riley's face lit up like holiday icicle lights. "I can't thank you enough."

"Riley—" Ruth began, but quickly bit back her protest. Noah felt her fingers close around his wrist.

"You didn't go with Jack this morning?" Luke asked Riley.

"I had to accompany Nazli and Lujayn to the hospital. Standard procedure," he added quickly, seeing the concern that manifested on Luke's face. "Thankfully they're clean from any diseases. It's fatigue, undernourishment, and trauma that we have to worry about, and the physician—Dr. Stewart—thinks helping them live and eat normally is all we can do for that."

Luke's eyes scanned Nazli and Lujayn. Their ripped and soiled black robes had been swapped—Luke imagined Emma, quietly gleeful, throwing them into the utility room to be made into rags—with conservative outfits borrowed from Meg and Janet, their hair tucked neatly under Emma's old bandanas. The clothes hung off the pair's scrawny frames, yet made them appear healthier than they had last night, or at least gave them an air of dignity. They were hunched over the table, seemingly devouring the new knowledge Amira was presenting them with as an appetizer to the meal Emma and Janet had in the works.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about them," Luke said. "And your organization. My idea is—"

The door opening and shutting interrupted Luke. Jack was taken aback for a moment upon seeing Luke and Noah, though he quickly recovered his composure and slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Hi, honey." Janet leaned over to give her husband a kiss. "How'd it go?"

"The questioning went surprisingly well," Jack said, slipping his arm around Janet's waist though addressing the entire room. "I wasn't expecting Pinarosa to be so candid. I already stopped at the station to brief Margo about it. "

"How is she?"

"Ah…I don't know. I don't think she should have gone back to work so soon. It's keeping her mind off Adam for now, but I bet that's not going to work for too long." Jack lightly chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, before turning his attention to Riley. "I heard the name again today. We're looking for Salvatore Pinarosa. Margo's calling Interpol to see what information she can get on him. The Pinarosa family is a pissed-off illegitimate offshoot of the Grimaldi and framing Damian for high crimes is right up their alley."

"You've dealt with them before?"

Jack nodded, his gaze darting guardedly towards Luke. "Back in April the girl I questioned—Gia Pinarosa—caused us a hell of a lot of trouble. It's no big surprise that the rest of her family would follow suite." He cleared his throat. "That's all we've got to work with for the moment, until Margo gets in touch."

"Just in time for lunch," Emma joked, turning the flame off from underneath the chicken she had been cooking. "Can someone go get Holden from the barn?"

"I'll do it," Luke said, a little too quickly, a little too loudly. Luke passed Jack, and Noah's hawk eyes saw Jack pull something out of his pocket and slip it to Luke.

"Excuse me for a minute?" Noah said two seconds after Luke had shut the door. He pulled out of his aunt's grip and power-walked past Jack, nearly shoving the door off its hinges as he exited the kitchen.

Luke was sitting on the bench, his head down, his right hand clenched into a shaking, blood-deprived fist.

"Luke, is that a…?" Luke nodded. "It's…it can't be…Luke, _please_ don't tell that it says…"

Luke's voice was like melded-together, cracked desert sand. "It's positive, Noah."

The air suddenly disappeared from Noah's lungs; the last remnants of oxygen pushed out, "No."

"Luke? Noah?" The door leading from the front yard creaked open and Holden, having instinctively smelled lunchtime, entered the small vestibule. He saw his son, looking for all the world like he wanted to curl into a perfect ball, and Noah, who seemed like a touch with a feather would have sent him sprawling. "What's wrong?"

"Luke…" Noah croaked in half-hearted protest as Luke's fingers unfurled and his palm raised to present what Jack had given him.

"Oh, Christ…Luke, who? Faith isn't…for the love of God, Luke, don't tell me it's Faith."

"It's not Faith," Luke whispered. "It's Zoe."

"Zoe…_Gia Pinarosa_? You slept with—" Sudden, horrible realization and memories of Jack's ordeal flooded Holden's brain. Before Noah could register it in sight Holden had crouched down, putting one hand on his son's shoulder and using the other to tip Luke's chin up. "Why the hell didn't you say anything, Luke? We could've prepared for—" Anger fled, as suddenly as it came, upon seeing the look on his third child's face. "When did you find out?"

"Just now." Noah was astounded by the calm of Luke's voice. "Jack went to question her today; she must have given it to him then."

"Does Jack know what happened?"

"Yes. Jack and Noah." Luke's hand closed again, though not as tightly. "Now, you, and soon, everyone else."

"You don't have to say anything just now, Luke," Noah said, motor function returning enough to allow him to gently place his hands on Luke's head.

"I want to." Luke stood, as did Holden. "We said we'd keep it quiet unless it came to this."

"You know it might not be yours," Noah said quickly. "She was having sex with Zach. And you can't remember if…the heroin messed with his head," Noah said, turning his attention towards Holden, trying to keep the real and imagined memories away.

"Getting my baby was her plan from the beginning. I can't imagine she'd be dumb enough to risk having a child that isn't mine."

"The woman's _insane_, Luke! We can't even try to predict what she would or wouldn't do…" The gleam in Luke's eyes told Noah that he didn't believe that alternative. If Noah were ever to be honest about that moment, he would admit to doubting it himself.

The door to the kitchen gently swung open, with Jack leaning on the doorknob. Lily stood behind him, having given Ethan to Emma, her face growing darker and darker red with every passing second, her eyes glittering.

"The door…isn't exactly soundproof," Jack said softly.

Lily pushed past Jack and snatched the pregnancy test away from Luke. Her free hand flew to her mouth to unsuccessfully stop a cry of horror as she read the results. Emma with Ethan, Janet, Lucinda, Meg with Eliza, and Ruth crowded behind her, straining to see the scene that sound had imperfectly brought to their attention. Riley, Amira, Nazli, and Lujayn stayed at the table; the former two looking on in incredulity, the latter two in bewilderment.

"Sweetie, why didn't you say anything?" Lily asked, and any confusion was blown away with the tornado of her words. "We could have gotten you help."

Luke shrugged tightly. "I was talking to Jack. I didn't want to say anything to anyone else until it became an issue."

"It was already an issue! You were—" The first tear fell from her eye as the test fell from her hand. Holden and Noah crossed each other as they quickly switched places, to stand by their respective soulmates. "Oh, God, Holden, our baby was…"

Noah placed his hands on Luke's shoulders as he saw Holden do to Lily, but for a brief moment he considered that it was himself, not Luke, that he was supporting.

"Inside…inside, now," Lucinda said, taking Lily's arm and tugging her back into the kitchen. "Everyone! Please! God invented kitchen tables for a _reason_."

"Luke." Noah's fingers clenched against Luke's shoulders as he felt Luke begin to move. "You don't have to deal with this now."

Luke pulled himself out of Noah's grasp and turned to face his boyfriend. "Yes, I do. We both do."

"Luke, I…" Noah's hands seem weighted down, now just when he wanted to touch Luke, as if they had no right to make contact.

Luke heard the "I can't" before Noah was able to force it out of his throat. Noah watched as the sadness in Luke's eyes turned from acknowledgment of hazy past to clear present. Luke hadn't been the only one over the past weeks to wake up shivering in a frozen sweat, stomach churning like an angry ocean and mind working just as violently to drown the sounds and images that sleep had brought to the surface, hands reaching out to push away the ghost of other hands, ones sporting black nail polish and needles.

Noah never felt more worthless than now, as Luke reached up and pulled him into a long moment of comfort and understanding that Noah could not reciprocate, and as Luke gently peeled himself off his boyfriend and disappeared back into the house.

"Noah?" Ruth was the only one left standing in the doorway and, to her eyes, Noah was a toddler who had seen a dead, rotting squirrel in the yard for the first time. "I…I guess I can figure out what happened," she continued quietly, remembering the story of the kidnapping that had been wrapped up in Noah's explanation of Damian. "Were you…also…?"

"No." He looked down, needing something to look at that couldn't sympathize. "I was…bait. Just him. Just Luke."

"But you were there?"

"Yeah," Noah croaked out. "He came to rescue me. He was there because I was."

"Oh, Noah…"

"Don't." Noah turned away from Ruth's outstretched arms. "I'm not the one who needs that."

"Yes you do." Ruth determinedly stepped forward and put her arm around her nephew, her free hand coming up to pull his head onto her shoulder. "You need it too, angel."

Angel. Noah vaguely remembered being called that, once upon a time. Since meeting Luke, every once in awhile he would think the same of him: an angel, not fallen but forcibly pulled down. After Luke's confession in the hospital the image had changed, now showing wings covered in dirt where they had not been shredded.

And now, he thought, too drained and too addicted to reject the comfort he didn't believe he deserved, there would be a new devil in the world to rip off what was left of the feathers and bones and light, grounding Luke permanently in Hell.


	6. Part I Chapter VI

**Disclaimer:** I do not own As The World Turns

**Notes:** I calculated Zoe's due date to be January 11th based on an April 20th conception date (I played with the dates of the kidnapping since the soap opera doesn't exist in real time, and for reasons that I know and you'll find out, I needed to set the date of conception as far back as possible).

Meg was married to Craig back in 200…7? 8? I forget. And she was pregnant, but with Paul's baby. Craig tried to force her to miscarry; when she found out, she dumped him. Later, she got into the middle of Paul and Craig fighting; Paul accidentally knocked her down and caused a miscarriage. Regarding faked pregnancies…Holden's ex Molly faked a pregnancy with him (1997), Meg faked a pregnancy with Dusty (1980something), and Jade faked a pregnancy with Will (2006).

* * *

Part I – Chapter VI

* * *

"You have reached Damian Grimaldi. I am unable answer the telephone right now. Please leave a message." BEEP

"Hi, Damian, it's Meg. Um…listen, there's been a…a problem, with Luke. He's okay, it's not an emergency, but something's happened that he and Lily think you should know about. If you could call us back—this is my cell, you can call the farm or Lily's phone—as soon as possible, that would be…" Meg floundered to find an appropriate word, "…good, I guess. See you soon. 'Bye."

Meg re-entered the kitchen, closing her cell phone as she did. "I couldn't reach him," she reported, retrieving Eliza from Emma. "I left a message."

"Thanks, Meg," Lily said, bringing her hand down from where she had been wiping away one of the stray tears that seemed to be spontaneously forming and falling from her eyes. Luke sat next to her, his hands folded tightly on the table, across from Holden, who sat, holding Ethan, between Emma and Lucinda. Jack and Riley stood by the staircase doors; Janet and Amira had taken Nazli and Lujayn into the parlor. Outside, Ruth stood with Noah, quiet.

"What's the procedure with this, Jack?" Holden asked, nerves translating into energy as he bounced a mercifully distracted Ethan. "What exactly should we be expecting?"

"Pinarosa's not going to be able to spend much time with the kid," Jack replied. "After she gives birth, she'll have maybe a day before the child's released to relatives."

"So the baby doesn't necessarily have to go to Luke."

Jack caught the sudden, sharp movement from Luke from the corner of his eye. "If she has other family, then no. The impression she gave me, though, was that her only blood relatives left alive that she knows of are her maternal grandparents. One of whom is under investigation, both of whom we have no idea where they are."

"They should be easy enough to track down though, right?"

"The grandmother, maybe, if she's still in America. Salvatore…well, we'll see what Margo has to say. If either of them are viable options, then Luke can sign away his legal rights to the child. He could do that anyway, actually, and have the child placed in someone else's custody until Pinarosa is released."

"Then, that sounds like a plan," Lucinda said. "I've lawyers enough to handle that sort of thing."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that idea."

All eyes turned incredulously to Luke.

"Luke, you're saying you want _custody_ of this child?" Lucinda demanded.

"I'm saying that I don't think right this moment is a good time to decide that I want no part of my child's life."

Lucinda scoffed at "my" but Emma spoke before Lucinda could. "I think that's a wise idea, dear. It's not like you don't have time. January is a long way off."

"Have you and Noah already discussed this?" Lily asked. Luke shook his head. "_Luke_…"

"It's not exactly easy to talk about," Luke almost snapped at her. "Like I said, I didn't want to talk more than I had to until I actually _had to_."

Holden painfully recognized that as Luke's strategy for revealing his homosexuality. Before he could articulate just how poorly thought-out a policy that was, he was cut off by the ringing telephone. Jack and Lily both jumped to answer, with Jack reaching it first.

"Snyder Farm." Jack paused. "Hey, Margo. What'd Savio say? …Oh, you're shitting me. Is he sure? Because that's sure not the impression I got from Pinarosa… What do you want to do?" Jack was silent for a long minute. "Fine. Riley and I'll meet you there."

"What was that about?" Lily asked as Jack hung up the phone.

"The case." Jack glanced at Riley, and then gave a heavy sigh. "Margo just got through with Savio. He says that Salvatore Pinarosa has been missing and presumed dead since May."

"You're not serious," Meg, Lily, and Luke chorused.

"Interpol is." He scanned their faces. "You'll be happy to know that we're not convinced. Pinarosa spoke of him as if he were still alive."

"I think it's been proven that the girl cannot be trusted," Lucinda said coolly.

"She doesn't benefit from saying he's alive if he isn't, though. If anything it'll only extend her sentence, for obstruction of justice. In any case we need more information before we can make any informed arrest. Margo's going to be waiting for us at the Lakeview."

"You're going to question Damian again?"

"Not just him. Lisa too. Riley, I'll explain about her on the way over. We'd better get going…"

"Oh!" Lily stopped in the middle of sitting down and bounced up, as if propelled by memory. "It's only a half-day for the girls. I said I'd pick them up. They've probably already missed the bus…"

"I'll go with you, darling," Lucinda said, her keen eyes observing the shake in Lily's hands. "I want to discuss," she assessed her grandson with a frown he stubbornly refused to acknowledge, "some things with you."

"Be back soon, ok, baby?" Lily bent down to gently kiss the crown of Luke's head. "We'll figure something out then…"

Luke silently waved the permission to leave that Lily was looking for. Jack held open the door to allow Lily and Lucinda to leave ahead of himself and Riley, and also to let Noah and Ruth inside.

"Are you going somewhere?" Ruth asked, catching Riley by the arm as he passed her.

"Official investigation. Don't worry," he added, seeing Ruth's suddenly anxious face. "Just questioning." He bent down to kiss her cheek, which she had presented to him out of habit. "And…Noah?"

Noah's throat was almost too dry to push out, "Yeah?"

"I'm…" Riley glanced back at Luke, who had turned his head to look when Noah walked in the door; he dropped his voice. "I'm sorry…about what happened to your boyfriend."

Riley delicately clapped his hand on Noah's shoulder and let it linger there for a handful of seconds, hoping that whatever he transferred through his fingers would bolster his cousin, before disappearing through the door with Jack.

"Where did everyone go?" Ruth asked, looking over the now considerably emptier kitchen as she sat down at the head of the table.

"Lily and Lucinda went to pick up the girls," Holden said, adjusting a tired Ethan who was falling into a nap. "And Jack and Riley are headed to Lakeview—it's a hotel—to question Damian about the case. Everyone else is either here or in the parlor."

Noah took the seat Lily had left, beside Luke who had let his head drop to the table, and placed his arm around Luke's back. Luke looked up and, upon seeing his boyfriend, opted to rest his head on Noah's shoulder instead. Noah laid a kiss on Luke's head and muttered, "I'm sorry" into his hair. Luke slid his hand into Noah's and laced their fingers as an acceptance of the apology. Noah let himself breathe for a moment before speaking.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

"Finding a bigger apartment."

"Luke, don't…don't joke, please."

"I'm not." Luke lifted his head for Noah to see his eyes, a humorous shine noticeably absent.

Noah's stomach clenched. "Luke, no…you can't just—"

"You heard what Jack said," Holden intervened quickly. "You can sign away your legal rights."

"I know," Luke said, trying to hold onto Noah's slackening hand. "I just don't think that I—it's my _child_."

"You don't _know_ that," Noah said, his face beginning to heat up.

"A DNA test would prove it one way or the other," Meg said, catching onto Holden's observation and rushing into the budding argument. "I had one when I was married to Craig." She paused for a moment, trying to collect herself from the memory of her sabotaged pregnancy.

"How soon?" Holden asked gently.

"At ten weeks she can get what's called a CVS," Meg said, hoping facts would keep her emotions in check. "And at fourteen weeks she can have an amniocentesis done. Either of them will tell you paternity. She has to consent to the procedure, though."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Noah said. "If she resists, it'll mean that she knows Luke's not the father."

"And if she doesn't?" Luke's voice was low, almost strangled.

"We'll just have to see. There would still be a chance."

"And then what, Noah? If the kid _is_ mine?" Luke's eyes were narrowing.

"Then…then…" The color of Noah's face was beginning to match the rising temperature underneath it. "We've got options; we'll explore them."

"I don't feel like there _are_ options for me with this."

"Don't let Zoe take your choices away from you."

"She's _not_."

"Boys!" Emma yelped forcefully, swooping in like a mother bird bringing sustenance and protection to her suddenly obediently quiet chicks. "We're all…this is too much for any of us to handle right now. We're getting too emotional to talk about raising a child that might not be Luke's and moreover might not really exist…I can't count how many times someone has faked a pregnancy."

Luke thought he could see the memories churning behind his father and aunt's eyes. "She has nothing to gain from lying about _this_, either."

"That's…that's so, but women like that will find ways…" Ways like raping her grandson. Emma's hands were shaking. "Can we…can we _please_ just give ourselves a moment to process this before we jump into making plans? We didn't even know that this could have happened until now. And _God_, just you two and Jack dealing with this, for over a month…"

"Grandma…" Luke's free hand slid across the table at the sight of tears rolling down Emma's cheeks.

"No," Emma said, flapping her hands before pressing them to her face to wipe away the lines of saltwater. "I know, I know this isn't about us, it's about you, but…you can't do this, Luke. You can't keep things like this from us. It's not healthy. You have to _talk_."

"Yeah…" He turned his head, catching Noah's eye and holding it. "We do."

* * *

"I'm sorry to interrupt your day," Margo said, crossing her legs.

"It's not a problem, dear," Lisa said from behind the bar, filling a wine glass. "Lakeview won't suddenly explode if I'm not in the office for ten minutes. What can I help you with?"

"I need to know some things about the Grimaldi family."

"Always the Grimaldi family," Lisa said, rubbing her temple. "If I'd have known…I would've married Eduardo anyway. What exactly do you need to know?"

"There's some sort of domestic political system with this family, that much we know, but the actual scheme of things is lost to us."

"Ah. Well, first thing that you should know is that the Maltese Grimaldi are dying out quicker than payphones. That branch started with a Grimaldi lady having an affair with a Spanish soldier, and they've tried to overcome that shame by denying any illegitimate children they have. The problem is that this policy causes a lot of infighting. Sometimes murderous infighting, as I'm sure you've found out." Lisa frowned. "As a result, Maltese Grimaldi proper comprises of four people left alive. There's Luke and Damian, of course. Then there's Damian's grandmother Antonia, and Antonia's son Clemente…Eduardo's father and Damian's uncle. Clemente's no spring chicken and can't stand the sight of human existence besides, so Damian is the de facto head of the family, meaning he's in charge of the business. Clemente can act as his proxy if he has to, though. Antonia prefers not to get involved, from what Eduardo told me."

"And what about the illegitimate family?"

"The only ones I know of are Dante and the Pinarosa family."

"And what about the Pinarosa?"

"Antonia's husband—the former head of the family—was Giuliano Grimaldi. He had an affair with…I believe her name was Lora Pinarosa. She had a son, Salvatore, whom of course Giuliano denied."

"I assume that makes him half-brother to Clemente and Damian's father?"

"Clemente and Lorenzo, yes. Salvatore went on to have his own family, who I'm assuming included that Gia girl's mother. Anna, her name was?" Margo nodded. "If Anna made a stink about her inheritance, then it's no surprise that she was murdered."

"And who among the Grimaldi was responsible for that?"

Lisa shrugged. "The case was never resolved. It could be any of them besides Luke. I don't like to think Damian did it, but after the mess with Dante…if he was threatened, he might have done it in self-defense, or as a pre-emptive strike. That of course doesn't mean he's _actually_ responsible for her death."

"But it wouldn't be impossible to believe."

"No, I guess not," Lisa said, her frown deepening. Margo chewed her lip as she penned down Lisa's information and circled the suspicions over Anna's murderer. She looked up in time to see Jack and Riley enter the bar. She flagged them with a wave of her hand.

"Riley, this is Lisa Grimaldi," Jack said as they approached the two women. "Lisa, this is Riley Morgan. He's a special agent helping us with the case."

"Case?" Lisa glanced at Margo as she reached out her hand to shake Riley's.

"Damian is under investigation on a human trafficking charge," Margo explained. "The chain of command in the Grimaldi business might play a part in exonerating him."

"Then you're not gonna like this," Lisa said, biting her lip. "Damian checked out late last night."

"He _what?_" Margo shot up off her chair.

"He said he had to go where he belonged. I thought he meant the farm, because of Luke and Meg…"

"He probably used his private jet," Jack said, his face cemented into a glare. "Damn him, of course he'd make this difficult for us. We should've told him he wasn't allowed to leave…"

"He would have ignored that, anyway," Margo said, sighing. "Great. I guess we have to turn this over to the Maltese police."

"Not entirely," Riley said quickly. "I might be able to get special permission to pursue this case in Malta."

"Good. I need you to get right on that." Margo turned back to Lisa. "Did he happen to leave anything? A note?"

"Not that I know of," Lisa said, looking worried. "His room hasn't been taken yet; he might have left one behind. I'll go get the key."

"Riley, go with Lisa," Margo said. "Jack, I want to go over this with you." She held up her notepad as Riley and Lisa disappeared into the hallway. "I've got some names for you. Damian only has two relatives left in Malta, his grandmother and uncle," she tapped their names with her pen. "Uncle Clemente's the one with some say in the business. He could be the one authorizing use of Grimaldi ships in human trafficking. Lisa said he's something of a misanthrope, so it'd fit the character profile."

"And this lady?" Jack pointed to Antonia's name.

"According to Lisa, she stays out of the whole thing. Incidentally, it was her husband who spawned Salvatore with this other woman, Lora."

"What are your ideas about Salvatore?"

"There _is_ always the possibility that he's dead and Gia doesn't know about it. You said that the grandmother hasn't even told her where she's living nowadays."

"There's a difference between a change of address and a death in the family. And he's been presumed dead since May, right? It's June fifth. More than enough time for her to find out."

"We don't have the exact chronology of events, so we can't say for sure if this is a case-breaker or not. This even being suspicious is pretty dubious, but I'll mention it to Savio when we get back to him."

"What are you thinking?"

"A lot of things." Margo re-took her seat, propped her elbow on the bar, and rested her forehead in her hand. "It wouldn't surprise me if Clemente murdered Salvatore and started up this trafficking business as a way to get Damian in trouble."

"Why would Lujayn know about Salvatore, then?"

"She very well could have just overheard the name and thought it was important." Margo rubbed both her temples and then her eyes.

Jack assessed her with a stern, sympathetic eye. "Margo, you should go home."

"Excuse me?"

"You buried your son the other day, and now you're working on a human trafficking investigation that already has two people on it, one of whom is a specialist. You don't need to be here."

"Excuse me? Who is whose boss here?"

"Who is whose friend here?" Jack continued carefully after Margo found nothing to say. "Riley's the one who'll need this information most, and I'm perfectly capable of giving it to him. He Iis/I staying with my family, after all." Jack felt a twinge in his chest as he thought of the Snyders, clustered around Luke at the kitchen table. More than once he'd stopped the clandestine therapy sessions because Luke's features suddenly seemed to lose all life and color, as if every last drop of blood in his body evaporated. He'd never seen Luke cry, but he Ihad/I seen Noah do so, and the thought of how Noah…hell, Iboth/I of them would take Luke being involved in the child's life…Jack refocused his gaze on Margo, trying to put those thoughts on a shelf until the moment was right to take them down and deal with them. "None of us are going to think less of you if you go home."

Margo's gaze was something like annoyance and relief baked together, and before that could translate to voice, Riley and Lisa descended the stairs, Riley holding a piece of paper.

"He left a letter," Riley said, holding up what under further inspection turned out to be an envelope. "For, ah…"Luciano Grimaldi"."

"That's Luke," Jack said, taking the envelope from a bemused Riley's hands. "It's sealed…he'll have to open it. Great, something else to put on his plate…" He tried to ignore the curious look on Margo's face, and instead plastered a gently victorious one on his own. "Riley and I'll take it back to the farm, then. Margo? I really think you should—"

"I'll consider it," Margo interrupted, too tired-sounding to be effectively snappish. "Thank you for your help; we'll be in touch if we need anything else," she said, turning again to Lisa.

"Be in touch whenever you hear anything," Lisa responded.

* * *

The squeak of the mattress springs was oddly comforting in its familiarity, but even that minimal consolation was taken away when Luke remembered the exact same sound from the previous night, when Noah sat next to him on the bed and told him it was okay to find out what Zoe had to say. Regret that he had consented to that seemed to be emanating off Noah's body, and that more than the entire family's numb shock had chased Luke to his bedroom.

It was not enough, however, to keep Noah at the kitchen table, as the creaking of the door told Luke. For a long moment they were still, Noah staring at Luke, Luke staring at the floor, until Luke finally worked up the resolve to look up.

"It looks like we're at an impasse about the baby."

"Can we just concentrate on _you_, please?" Noah shut the door, crossed the room, and took his seat next to Luke. "This bombshell was dropped on us, and you're already trying to make a decision…"

"It's not like we were totally clueless that this was a possibility."

"That doesn't make it any easier to take—" Noah stopped himself before his voice could rise. "We didn't talk about this at all. And you barely spoke to Jack about being…before we can decide _anything_ we need to be able to think clearly."

"You don't want me involved in the kid's life."

"What I don't _want_ is for you to suffer anymore than you already have." Noah's arms met around Luke's shoulders and he rested his temple against Luke's head. "And this is too big a decision for us to settle on right now. Not when we're both so…"

"Fucked up?"

"I was going to say upset, but that works too." Noah moved his arms, allowing them to reconnect around Luke's torso. Noah felt a rush of pain in his gut as Luke hooked his hands around Noah's arms and settled into the embrace, trusting and secure and as if he were so God damn _safe_ there. An illusion, just like the dream of strangling Zoe for daring to place her hands on Luke.

"Stop it," Luke ordered, quietly but sternly. Noah's breathing pattern changed whenever he was reliving the moment Luke stammered out what Zoe had done to him. "That won't help anyone with anything." He shifted, turning his upper body so he could easily look Noah in the eye, and his hand went up to grasp Noah's cheek. "This isn't your fault."

Noah swallowed his refutation of the claim; it scraped the back of his throat as it settled back into his heart. "It isn't yours, either."

"What do you—"

The doorknob gently clicked its way open and light spilled onto the floor as Janet cautiously returned the outside world to them. "Hey, guys," she said softly, smiling weakly.

"Oh, Janet…" Luke felt himself deflate a little. "What's up?"

"Jack and Riley are home; they need to see you, Luke." She sighed, fidgeting. "Damian checked out of the Lakeview last night."

"He _what?_" Noah released Luke to allow him to stand.

"They can't find him; they think he's gone back to Malta. He left a letter for you at the hotel; you have to open it so there are no legal problems if it turns out to be evidence…"

The bed creaked; Noah stood and looped his arms protectively through Luke's. For a brief moment Luke leaned into his boyfriend, drawing from him whatever strength he thought Noah could afford to lose, and then stood on his own weight. Noah's hand slid down Luke's arm until their fingers locked their hands together, and Luke gently pulled him along as they followed Janet downstairs.

"Hey," Jack said lightly, watching as the three entered the kitchen from the stairway. Lily and Lucinda had returned as well as Jack and Riley, leading Luke to believe that his sisters, and Ethan, had been banished either to the parlor or the barn. He wondered what story they'd been told, if any; he wondered what story they'd eventually hear…

"Janet filled you in, right?" Jack continued, snapping Luke out of his reverie. He nodded, and Jack stretched out his hand, the letter trapped between his thumb and forefinger. Luke took it and forced the flap open with his finger before discarding the envelope and unfolding the piece of paper that had been inside.

""Dear Luciano"," he read aloud. ""First of all let me apologize to you, your mother, and your aunt for disappearing without warning. I suppose apologies are due for Jack, as well; he has them. I could not run the risk of being delayed from or talked out of returning to Malta. I have worked too hard and sacrificed too much in ridding Kingsley-Grimaldi of filth to have my efforts wasted, and not through my own mistakes but by being framed for something as reprehensible as slave trading. I realize I may have no right to give you an order, and it may be presumptuous to think you would even try to, but I have to insist that you obey me by not trying to follow me to Malta. We know from experience how dangerous this could turn out to be, and something similar to the incidents involving my half-brother or"…" Luke trailed for a second but forced himself to press on, "…"or Gia Pinarosa must not be allowed to happen again. I also do not exaggerate when I say there is nowhere in Malta that is safe for you. Though I go now specifically to Cominotto, the Grimaldi reach is vast and I can only assume our enemies' matches it. It is best not to involve yourself or anyone else in this matter. I hope to see you again soon; if not, then I remain, eternally, your father. Damian Grimaldi"."

Luke looked up, feeling as if his head was trying to sink into his neck. Lily gently pulled the letter from his hand and surveyed it.

"It's definitely his handwriting," she said after a moment of assessment. "It doesn't look rushed, either…I think this is genuine, in both form and content." She looked over at Jack as she handed the letter to him.

"Great, he's gotta put this on our heads, too…" Jack grumbled, roughly taking the letter.

"He doesn't…he doesn't know about Luke," Meg said, the message she left for him fresh in her mind. "I don't think he would have left if he'd known."

"He might have; he's one of the few people left to run his empire." Jack refolded the letter. "Better clue the Maltese police on what's going on…"

Lily's voice stayed Jack. "That won't help."

"Pardon? Damian's probably got the cops in his back pocket; I'm surprised he's risking not having their help."

"Interpol might keep tabs on them but the local police never involve themselves with the Grimaldi," Lily elaborated. "Grimaldi shipping has the monopoly on Maltese trade. A publicized scandal could put thousands out of work and ultimately hurt the entire economy. Damian never called the cops on Dante because they would hear the name "Grimaldi" and…well, probably just flat-out say that there's nothing they can do. It doesn't matter who's running the empire as long as there's a king."

"Then what are we supposed to do, call in UN troops?" Lucinda snarled.

"The police won't get involved until they know for certain that it's an attack on the Grimaldi by someone outside the family," Lily said. "So until then, the only official investigating that can be done would be by Riley."

"_If_ I get permission to go to Malta," Riley amended.

"Can you get _anyone_ else to help you?" Jack asked, turning to Riley.

Riley exhaled slowly. "I'm thinking no. Not with issues of sovereignty involved. Honestly, we'll be lucky if I get to go."

"So we're just going to cut him loose?" Meg demanded. "Let him handle it on his own?"

"Damian made that decision for us," Holden said, voice low and attempting kindliness as he wrapped his arms around Lily's waist and rested his chin on her tensed shoulder.

"I think you should inform the Maltese police anyway," Meg said, turning on her heel to face Jack. "It's insane that they won't get involved just because it's the Grimaldis."

"It couldn't hurt to let them know," Luke said. Numbness was creeping into his body like some sort of tumor; whether it was benign or malignant was difficult to parse.

"All right," Jack said, taking in the looks on Meg, Lily, and Luke's faces. "I have to go back down to the station to finish out my shift anyway; I'll make sure Interpol gets the message. If anything new comes up I'll give you guys a call."

"Thank you, Jack," Meg said, settling back from not realizing she had been leaning forward. Eliza was beginning to fuss at being clasped so tightly to her mother's chest.

Jack disappeared out the front door, Janet catching up with him to accompany her husband to the car. As soon as the door shut behind them Lily groaned and settled the entirety of her weight against Holden. "I can't believe this."

"I can," Holden said, lightly kissing her neck and then turning his head to face his son. "Luke? Dumb question, but are you okay?"

Luke exhaled, sinking down into a chair as strength left his body with air. Noah quickly moved to sit beside him. "Been though worse, I guess."

"So has Damian," Meg said, as if she were reassuring someone in addition to Luke. "He'll be fine." Eliza finally rebelled against Meg's clutch and began wailing; Meg turned away and gently bounced her to soothe her. "He'll be fine."

* * *

The house on Cominotto was a six hundred foot square cottage complete with basement and attic that Damian could remember playing in as a little boy and learning about the business in as a young man. The official Kingsley-Grimaldi offices were on Manoel Island, but here was the hidden heart of the empire.

"Uncle Clemente?"

The lights were low, the house was silent. All normal. Since the deaths of his wife and son, noise and the memories it brought were anathema to Clemente. Damian felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he sifted through what felt like a thick fog of quiet. Living in hiding for eight years had given him an almost paranoia about silence.

"Clemente? Are you here?"

No answer. Damian passed by an open door to a darkened room, feeling what he thought was a stab of fear in his side, near his intestines. It took several seconds of staring down at himself to realize that the sensation wasn't emotional, and that there was a slow yet steady stream of blood running down from where a knife was being pulled out.

The arm wrapping around his neck and dragging him was the only thing preventing him from crumpling to the floor. The door swung shut behind him, plunging him into almost complete darkness but for the half-curtained window shedding the barest of light on a human figure.

"Thanks for coming, Damian. You took the bait quite nicely."

"Who the hell…?" The point of the knife pressed against his temple.

"Is that any way to address your dear Uncle Sal?" The figure turned, allowing his old, weatherbeaten face to be seen.

"Clemente…_what did you do to Clemente?_"

"Quick shot to the head, a burial at sea so the cops stay none the wiser…just what you did to my Anna."

Whatever strength Damian had left in his legs abandoned him. The arm around Damian's neck tightened its hold, just barely keeping him upright as he tried to sink to his knees.

"I didn't kill your daughter, Salvatore," Damian rasped, air leaving him as grief and fear took its place.

"That's right, you didn't," Salvatore spat. "You couldn't have your godlike hands stained with a mere mortal's blood, so you hired someone to shoot her in the heart and throw her to the sharks."

"I did n—" The arm slackened and then yanked back suddenly, cutting off Damian's words.

"Did you ever wonder what it'd be like, as a father, to read that headline?" Salvatore continued. "To see pictures of your baby ripped into unrecognizable shreds? And then be told that the evidence is digesting inside some fish so there's nothing that can be done?"

Damian choked; his hands came up to claw helplessly at his captor's hold.

"Well, you won't have to listen to the police's crap because you'll be long gone by then. To Malaysia, maybe. Someplace where the Grimaldi name is for shit, where you'll be just like the rest of the sorry bastards down in the basement. But I'll be sure to send you the pictures of dear little Luciano. If they find the pieces, that is."

"You won't touch my son!" Damian lunged, but again was held fast. The tip of the knife scratched against his skin; blood trickled down the side of his face and into his ear.

"Of course _I_ won't. Personally I've got nothing against the kid, but I do have something against you. And then I was introduced to this man who's got quite a beef with your son, and I figured, hey. If he's willing to ice the Grimaldi prince, that only helps me bring down the king."

Damian struggled, wriggling his neck and head so he could turn his face up and see them man keeping him in a chokehold. His eyes met a grin that he'd seen on Dante's face, now plastered on the visage of a stranger.

"Damian Grimaldi, I'd like you to meet Winston Mayer."


End file.
